


Gods Damned Cat

by Wargurl83



Series: Cat 'Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baker Dean, Bookstore owner Cas, Doctor Charlie, F/M, Fem!Cas, Genderbend, Genderbent Cas - Freeform, Idiots in Love, Kitchen Witch Dean, Veterinarian Sam, Violence against a cat (please dont hate me i fix it), and lots of pining, cat owner dean, oh yeah, pinefest, sam's sneaky and gets dean to take home a cat, shapeshifter cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wargurl83/pseuds/Wargurl83
Summary: Dean Winchester’s best friend, Castiel Novak, is fed up with men who can’t take a hint, so she sets down a rule: If you want to date me, you’ll need to get the key from my cat!Come along for the shenanigans, the pining, and some truly epic idiots on the way to Dean finally realizing he’s in love with his best friend.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Cat 'Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042347
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74
Collections: Dean/Cas Pinefest 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When Pinefest signups rolled around this year, I thought, sure, why not? I don’t even remember what my original idea was, but this was sitting in my WIP folder, glaring at me for not letting the kerfluffle (the plot bunnies) flesh it out and make it whole.  
> So I did.  
> Many thanks to Lasafara for letting me bounce ideas off of them. Lasa, this one’s for you, love.  
> Thank you to EmiliaOagi for looking this over and betaing for me. 
> 
> And holy shit, thank you Cass for the artwork. IT'S SO CUTE! Go check out the [masterpost](https://imogenbynight.tumblr.com/post/616325522924945408/gods-damned-cat-art-masterpost-as-part-of-this) or you can see it all embedded into the fic.
> 
> And without further ado, I give you our idiots:  
> Castiel and Dean.

__

_She don't know she's beautiful (never crossed her mind)_

_She don't know she's beautiful (no she's not that kind)_

_She don't know she's beautiful_

_Though time and time I've told her so_

Dean's in the kitchen when he hears the front door slam. He leans back from the stove and sees his best friend throw her tan trench coat on the back of the couch. Castiel lets her dark brown hair out of its bun, sighing and rolling her shoulders. Dean quirks an eyebrow at her in a silent question that she just shakes her head at. As she makes her way into the kitchen, Dean angles his head towards the fridge and in lieu of a greeting says, "Beer's in the fridge."

Cas sighs again, trailing her hand across his back as she makes her way past him. "Thanks, Dean."

Dean turns back to the pot of spaghetti sauce. "No prob. You OK?"

The refrigerator door thumps closed and Dean hears the hiss of the bottles being opened before Cas answers. "I'm fine, I think. Just tired of Marv hitting on me, along with everyone else in this Bast-forsaken town."

Dean shudders. Marv is an older man who runs an editing company next door to Cas' used bookstore, Lost Titles, and has somehow gotten it into his head that Cas is in love with him. Cas has told him in no uncertain terms that she is _not_ interested, thank you very much, but Marv persists.

Dean takes Cas in out of the corner of his eye as he stirs the sauce, and starts humming an old Sammy Kershaw song under his breath. Castiel Novak is six feet of tough beauty even without her heels on. As a red-blooded male, he can see why she gets hit on and catcalled when she's walking down the street, but he still hates when it happens. It never fails to make her shut down and withdraw from everyone, even from him.

Dean turns the heat down for the burner the sauce is sitting on and covers the pot before turning towards his friend, opening his arms to her.

Cas bites her lip and surges into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her nose in his collar bone. "Why won't he just leave me alone, Dean? Gods above, I am tired of idiot males thinking they know what I want better than I do. I’m at my wit's end."

Dean lays his cheek down on the top of her head and squeezes her tighter before he kisses her temple. "I don't know sweetheart." Dean is silent for a moment, enjoying the feel of Cas' body pressed flush with his before he continues. "You know, if you would just let me hex the bastards, I could turn them into a newt or something, teach 'em all a lesson for not listening and backing off when you ask them to."

Cas chuckles and leans back. "I can't let you do that, Dean. Even well-meaning, we both know the rule of three would come back and bite you. Plus, that's _entirely_ too many people to hex."

Dean smiles sadly and runs a hand over her hair before he cups her chin, angling her face so that he can look her in the eye. "Totally worth it. You're my best friend."

A flash of melancholy crosses Cas' eyes before she taps his nose and draws back out of his arms. "Yes, well. Be that as it may, I think I have another idea."

Dean lets her go and turns to rummage in the pantry for the lasagna noodles. He'd only been planning on making spaghetti tonight, but he knows that nothing perks Cas up better than his lasagna. Grandma Deanna had passed her recipe to him when he left home, and although Dean didn't often take the time to make it, he always has the ingredients on hand for nights like this.

Dean is well versed in the art of caring for his family through food. Part of it’s due to the fact that he’s a kitchen witch, but most of the time its nothing more than a good home-cooked meal. And every once in a while, he’ll give the food a little extra boost using his specially prepared herbs, murmuring incantations over the pots, or sometimes even weaving his spells into the food itself.

Dean’s a pastry chef. He scrimped and saved before he moved up here and now owns his own bakery, Witching Flours. Every single one of the pies he makes includes good fortune runes inscribed into the crust, under the filling.

Dean shakes himself out of his thoughts and re-focuses on Castiel. "Oh yeah? What's your idea?"

Cas drops into a chair and toes off her ankle boots. "Well, I was thinking of telling anyone who wants to date me they have to get the key to my house off of my cat's collar."

Dean splutters. "Wait, you have a cat? Dude, what the hell? I've known you forever and I've never met this cat!"

Cas fiddles with the hem of her dress shirt, avoiding Dean's gaze. "I uh, I don't keep her inside. I know how allergic you are to cats, and I didn't want you to be uncomfortable when you came over."

Dean levels a bitch face to rival one of Sam's, his brother, at Cas, and crosses his arms over his chest. "Cas. Dude. You don't have to do that to your poor cat. I can start taking allergy meds to make sure that I don't sneeze my fool head off when I'm over. All you had to do was tell me! Hell, I can probably cook up something to down so I'm not putting synthetic drugs in my system."

Castiel tilts her head to the side and squints at Dean. "Why is this such a sore subject for you? Not knowing I have a cat?"

Whoops. Dean hunches his shoulders and looks at his feet. "I mean, we've known each other forever, ya know? I thought we told each other everything."

_Liar_ , his brain tells him.

"Dean." Cas stands up and crosses the kitchen over to him, and cups his face. "I'm so sorry. I truly did not think this would be an issue for you if I kept the cat outside. We'll make sure that you meet her soon, OK?"

Dean leans into Cas' left hand and then sighs. "OK, Cas." He draws away and turns back to the stove. "Let me get the grub going. Wanna help?"

And so begins the Great Cat Chase, as Dean mentally dubs it. Once word got out of Cas’ new requirement for dating her, creeps started showing up at her place looking for said cat. Being next-door neighbors with Castiel, Dean has a literal front-row seat to the shit people do searching for and trying to catch her cat.

When he notices the first asshat to show up snooping around the back door of her place, he damn near shoots the bastard. He grabbed his handgun and ran out the back door and was opening his mouth to shout at him, but before he could say a word, both men were startled by a streak of dark brown fur shooting across the yard. They watch as the cat flies across the grass and dives into the bushes that line the font of Dean’s house. Yowling and spitting can be heard all the way in the backyard where Dean is still standing on his deck. Dean shakes himself out of his shock and levels a finger at the blond man that was just making his way into Dean’s yard.

"Dude, if you step foot onto my property I will shoot you."

The blond splutters at him until Dean shows him his pearl gripped Colt. The man pales and steps away from the back fence, holding his hands up. "Alright, whatever. We all know you're too chicken shit to go after her anyway, so it's not like you'll have an advantage if the cat hides at your house."

Dean snarls at the blond. "Just because I respect my best friend doesn't mean shit. You let anyone else who is thinking about showing their ass to stay off my property and I won't get in your way. Capiche?"

"Yeah whatever, asshole."

Dean sighs and goes back into the house, grabbing a bottle of over the counter allergy meds and taking the recommended dose before going into his study, putting away the Colt, and grabbing his journal. He heads out to the porch. _Might as well start figuring out some border spells_ , he thinks to himself as he settles into his rocking chair. He's doodling out a map of his property when he hears the holly bushes rustle, drawing his attention to the far end of the porch.

A cat with dark fur riddled with splotches of orange that look like someone splattered paint all over it drags itself up onto the wood slats and looks around warily. When it catches sight of him, it bristles, and Dean can’t help but laugh a little at its puffed-up tail.

"It's alright puss. Those dipshits won't bother you over here, and neither will I." He taps the notebook in his lap and continues, "As a matter of fact, I'm trying to figure out how to make sure that you can get in and out of my yard but keep asshats like that out of it. You know, so you have a place to go since I know that Cas keeps you outside."

The cat quirks her head to the side before settling down to wash. Dean chuckles and turns back to his journal, tracing out his front yard and making notes where things like electrical lines and such cross over the boundaries. He'll probably build arches for those areas so that the cat and other non-flying small animal life could come and go safely, but keep larger animals and non-keyed humans out of his yard.

Dean sighs and looks at that cat. "Dude, I feel like an old man yelling at people to get off his lawn with this. I hope you're happy."

The cat, who had draped itself over his porch railing and was enjoying the setting sun, declines to offer any comment apart from a flick of its tail. Dean shakes his head and bends his head back to the journal, scribbling out runes and ideas for more permanent protections. _A copper line would be the best way to lay down the protection_ , he muses to himself as he chews on the end of his pen, and he decides that the roll of stereo wire that came with the house could finally be put to good use.

When the sun finally sinks below the horizon, Dean stretches and decides it's time to head inside to find something to eat.

"Alright puss, it's time for me to head inside for the night. Looks like the coast is clear, so you should be safe enough to head on home to Cas." The cat turns its head to look at him, and for the first time, Dean notices that the cat’s eyes are blue, just like it’s owner's. It chirps at him and stands up on the railing. She stretches, digging wicked-looking claws into the wood, before she hops down and into the bush and streaking over into Cas' yard, fading into the night. Dean grins and shakes his head as he heads inside. He flips the porch light on in case Cas wanders over as he shuts the door and makes a beeline into the kitchen.

Dean and Cas made a decent dent in the lasagna a few nights ago but there was plenty left over that he'd saved and frozen. He's got the freezer door open and is reaching for a bag of it when he hears the front door open.

"'S that you Cas?"

Dean hears two thumps - shoes being taken off - before Cas replies.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Cas throws her jacket in its normal spot before she comes into the kitchen and takes a seat on a barstool. Dean throws a glance at her before he pulls out a second bag of lasagna. Cas looks tired and worn out tonight, and he figures that she'd be happy to eat leftovers again.

"Nah, not really. Had to run off a jerk who thought it was a good idea to trespass chasing after your cat though, so who knows." Dean shrugs as he plates the frozen block of pasta and meat sauce before sticking it into the microwave. "Hey while I'm thinking about it, you OK with me putting out food and water for your cat? I figure I'll set up a ward to keep the assholes out of my yard and keep her safe, so she might be spending a decent amount of time over here."

Cas blinks at him a few times, jaw slack, before she answers. "Uh, yeah, that should be fine. You shouldn't need to feed her though, just water. She's got food over on the back porch at my place."

Dean hums as he puts the kettle on the stove. "Alright, if you are sure. Hey, what's her name, anyway? Now that I know she is, well, a she, I'm sure she doesn't care for me to just keep calling her 'puss.'"

Cas looks down at her lap. "I just call her Cat."

Dean's in the middle of reaching for a mug to make tea for Cas when she answers and he stops mid-stretch. "Come again?"

Cas squirms. "I never named her."

Dean slowly turns around and looks at Castiel. "Dude. I just... dude." He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Alright, well. Are you OK with me just callin' her puss? Or do you want to pick out a name now? Cause I'm not gonna lie, callin' a cat 'puss' is probably not the best of ideas I've had, now that I think about it."

Dean is saved from his ramble by the beeping of the microwave, so he turns and snatches the plate out, cutting the lasagna up into smaller pieces before sticking it back in for another few minutes before he turns back to Cas.

"Look, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, Cas. I just wanted to know what to call her. If you call her Cat, then that's what I'll do too." Dean crosses the kitchen and pulls her into a hug. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to."

The microwave signals that dinner is ready and Dean shoves the first plate over in front of Castiel along with a fork. She bites her lip and looks down at her plate before she reaches out and pulls it to her. "I suppose we can give her a name. I guess I just really never thought about doing so." She takes a bite of the lasagna and hums in appreciation. "What were you thinking of?"

Dean shrugs. "No idea, 's not like I've ever owned an animal, ya know?" The microwave goes off again and he cuts up his portion before restarting it. "What's her personality like?"

"Quiet. Shy. She tends to really only like a few people. I've never actually seen her around anyone else but me now that I think about it."

Dean hums. "She's a calico, right?"

Cas finishes the bite in her mouth then says, "Tortoiseshell, actually. Tortie for short."

"Well, what about Cosmos? Her fur pattern kinda reminds me of the night sky when you can see the galaxies light up and..." he trails off and blushes, whipping around to hide it from Cas.

Dean can feel Cas' eyes on him when she asks, "And what, Dean?"

"Nothin, it's stupid. It's a stupid name." Dean mutters under his breath while his brain chants _her eyes, her eyes look like the sky, just like yours do!_ He feels his ears warm and ducks his head in embarrassment as the microwave beeps.

The stool screeches as Cas pushes away from the bar and Dean feels his shoulders droop. A small hand closes on his forearm, and Dean opens his eyes and looks over at Cas.

"Dean, I think that's a wonderful name," she says softly. She reaches past him and pops the microwave open and pats him on the arm. "Come on, come eat and tell me about this ward you mentioned earlier."

Saturday morning finds Dean out in his front yard at the crack of dawn with a shovel, pickax, potting soil (organic thank you _very_ much), several pots of plants, a frankly huge spool of copper speaker wire, and some PVC pipe he found in the basement. He's already laid down the lines via bright pink spray paint (Sam had snickered about it as he helped, but when it rained the next day and the paint was still visible through the mud, he stopped laughing), so all that was left was for him to dig out the trench and plant the herbs at the anchor points.

Rosemary, basil, and sage are plants that he often uses, both mundane and in his Craft, so the new plants will be useful as well as protective. He might even be able to bundle them for smudging and hand them over to Cas to sell at the bookshop. Dean hums Metallica as he works, and as the sun gets higher in the sky, he starts shedding layers. Sweat is dripping down his face by the time lunch rolls around, so he decides to lose his undershirt and hose himself off before he goes inside. He's just standing up and reaching for his t-shirt, water dripping down his torso, when he catches sight of Cosmos again.

She's up a tree this time, and Marv is standing at the base of the tree with a can of food. There is a cat carrier on the ground behind him and to the left and Dean narrows his eyes at them. Cosmos doesn't look concerned, however, so he just shrugs and heads inside to wash the dirt out from under his fingernails and make a sandwich. He takes it and a glass of lemonade out to the front porch in time to see Cosmos jump down out of the tree, bound off Marv's head, and streak over into his holly bushes again. Dean shakes his head as Marv starts into his yard.

"Don't even, man. My yard is off-limits to anyone chasing that cat."

Marv looks at him, slack-jawed, and splutters. "What, you can't get the balls to ask Castiel out so you gonna keep us all from getting to the cat?"

Dean rolls his eyes and sighs. "No you asshole. I don't want you fuckers tearing up my garden and yard tearing after her. If you can't manage to catch her when she's out and about, then it's your own damn fault." Dean shrugs and bites into his sandwich. "Plus I figure it's only fair for her to have a safe space that she can go to avoid all you douche bags. No one likes being hunted like a criminal, and the gods know you lot won't give her any peace."

Marv glares at him and huffs.

Dean sips his lemonade and shrugs again. "Plus it's not like her being here gives me any advantages ya'll don't have. She doesn't come near me and runs off before I get close to her anyway." He waves his sandwich a Marv. "You might want to let the others know that my yard is off-limits, cause after today there will be warding up, and if you try to cross it, I promise it _will_ hurt like a bitch."

Marv pales and backs away from the small trench his toes were butting up against. He sneers at Dean though as he picks up the discarded can of food and the cat carrier. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Deano. Have fun with the pussy, you dickless excuse of a Witch."

Dean can feel his power rise and knows his eyes are flashing purple at the slur, but before he can retaliate, Cosmos streaks out from her hiding place and sinks her teeth into Marv's right calf. Marv lets out a high-pitched scream and Dean can only watch as Cosmos shreds the khakis he's wearing and starts tearing into Marv's flesh.

When Marv falls to the ground and starts to reach for Cosmos, Dean jolts into action. He grabs his discarded flannel and dashes across his yard and throws the shirt over the hissing cat. The sudden darkness must stun her for a second because she stills, and Dean is able to scoop the shirt under her feet and get her tucked up into his chest. He tells Marv to stay where he is and dashes into the house, depositing Cosmos in his bedroom before shutting the door and rushing to the bathroom where his first aid supplies are. He makes a quick detour to the kitchen for his poultice of Plantain and then runs back outside and over to Marv.

The two men are silent as Dean cuts away the ruined mess of Marv's pant leg and Dean sets to work cleaning the older man's calf. Dean gets Marv's leg bandaged up and applies the Plantain to the top of the bandage before he wraps it with another layer of gauze.

"Alright man, that's the best I can do for now. You should really go by Urgent Care and get on some antibiotics, cat scratches are no joke, and they'll want to do a tetanus shot. I'm sure that Cas has her cat up to date on vaccines, so I doubt there will be any reason for you to get anything else done." Dean shakes his head. "Dude, I'm so sorry."

Marv waves him off. "I shouldn't have said what I did, about either of you. She just made sure to let me know of her displeasure." He grunts as he rolls over and sits up. Dean gets to his feet and offers him a hand up, which Marv takes.

"Well, be sure to stop by the doc's office anyway, OK? I'd hate to hear of something going wrong with your leg, you know?"

Marv nods. "Thank you, Dean. After what I said you had every right to not help me."

Dean shakes his head and slaps Marv on the shoulder. "You know as well as I do that's not how I operate. Now get yourself down and see Charlie. She'll get you set up with whatever else you need."

Marv waves at him as he limps away, cat food and carrier forgotten. Dean sighs and decides that he doesn't want Cas to see it sitting in her front yard when she comes home, so he scoops them up, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the canned food. He tosses it in the trash bin before he goes inside, and sets down the carrier right inside the door. He’ll take it to Sam later. He doesn't hear anything from his bedroom, so he decides to check on Cosmos now that Marv is on his way to (hopefully) get medical attention.

Dean eases the bedroom door open and can't help the soft smile that spreads across his face at what he sees. Cosmos is laying in the middle of his bed in a sunbeam, curled up into a small ball on top of his red and white flannel shirt. Her ear twitches as he opens the door wider, and she lifts her head to look at him.

"I've got Marv all patched up and sent him on his way. Something tells me he won't be bothering you anymore after that little stunt you pulled." Dean crosses his arms and leans on the door frame. "I'd ask what that was all about but I know you won't answer me anyway, so I'm not going to bother."

Cosmos sneezes and licks one of her front paws before she starts washing her face and ears.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, I've still got work to do in the front yard, so I'm going to leave the front door open. You're welcome to come join me whenever you like. Or not. Whatever." Dean pushes himself off the frame and leaves the room, stopping in the bathroom to wash the blood from his hands before he heads into the kitchen for a bowl that he fills with water. He sets the bowl down in Cosmos' corner of the porch and gets back to work.

The afternoon passes with no further interruptions, and Dean is able to get the trench for the wire fully dug out, and the plants into their respective places before the sun sets. He puts everything away and as he's coming out of the shed where he stores his tools, he catches sight of Cas getting out of her little Honda. He jogs over to her and wraps her up in a big hug, startling a laugh out of her before she wrinkles her nose and pushes him away.

"Gross Dean! You are soaking wet! And you stink!"

Dean grins and shrugs. "Yeah well, it's all for your cat, so I hope you appreciate all this," he waves at himself, "and are planning on feeding me tonight. I'm worn out from all the digging I had to do today."

Cas pushes him away again. "Ugh, fine. But you need to go shower first! I'll order pizza and it should be here by the time you get done." She shoos him away, and Dean laughs before he turns away and jogs back over to his house.

Dean clears the stairs to his porch in two bounds and sprints to his bedroom. He pulls out clean jeans and boxers, tossing them on the bed. He ducks in the bathroom and turns on the shower, letting it warm up before he dashes back out to his closet and rummages around for a clean over-shirt and throws it on the bed.

He scuttles back into the bathroom and grabs his favorite soap - rosemary and pine - and jumps in. He does a quick wash and scrubs his hair to get the embedded dirt out of it and dries off as he goes back to his bedroom. He throws on his boxers and jeans, a black shirt, and the green flannel over-shirt and rushes out the door, throwing a locking spell on the door as he goes.

When he gets to Cas' house, the smell of pizza makes his stomach growl, and Cas laughs from the kitchen. "Pizza's on the table, want a beer?"

"Duh," he tells her before he stuffs half a slice of pepperoni in his mouth and immediately regrets his life choices when the cheese burns the roof of his mouth.

Dean's trying to take cool his mouth down when Cas comes out of the kitchen and hands him his beer. "I'm going to run upstairs and change and when I get back, you are going to tell me why Marv avoids my shop like the Plague. Claire is eaten up with curiosity."

Dean gives her a lopsided grin. "You got it." He relocates the pizza and beers to the living room and flips the TV on to Netflix, queuing up Princess Bride before he flops down onto the couch and stuffs another bite (thankfully cooler this time) into his mouth.

"Oh good choice," Cas says as she flops down next to him. She reaches for the pizza and settles back with a hum before taking a bite. "Alright Winchester, spill. What did you do to Marv?"

"Nothing!" Cas raises an eyebrow at him, and Dean feels the need to defend himself. "No really. He had Cosmos treed and when he tried to chase her into the yard I told him off. He wasn't impressed and mouthed off and Cosmos expressed her, uh, _opinion_ , about what he said. Tore his leg up right good."

"Ah," she says. "Well, from what I could see of your yard your little project looks like it's moving right along."

"Yup. I'll be able to set the spells and bury the wire tomorrow after work. I won’t even need to create arches for the little animals, I tweaked the spell to let wildlife in."

Cas nods as she finishes her slice and reaches for another. "Oh, that’s good.” She takes a bite and nods her head to the TV. “Go ahead and start the movie if you are ready."

Dean gives her a cheeky grin, leans forward and grabs the remote in one hand and another slice of pizza in the other. Cas throws a blanket over the two of them and they snuggle in the middle of the couch to veg out, watch a good movie, devour pizza and enjoy the company.

It's enough.

Right?

Dean raises his head off the pillow and squints at his bedside table when the opening drum riff of Iggy Pop's _Lust For Life_ starts hammering away at his brain. He groans and buries his face back in the down-filled cloud and grumbles to himself a little bit before he sighs, reaching for his phone and turning off the alarm. He sits up and rubs the sleep out of his eyes before he pushes himself up and off the memory foam mattress. He stumbles into the bathroom clad only in his boxers and takes a piss before he finally manages to make it into the kitchen, flicking a quick charm to start the coffee maker that he'd set up last night after getting home from his movie and dinner with Cas.

He grabs a mug and swaps the carafe out until the mug is three-quarters full then shoves the carafe back in to let the only thing that makes mornings bearable finish filling the pot. He closes his eyes and breathes in the steam wafting off the dark nectar of life in his cup and feels his brain start booting up. He sticks a hand to the ice dispenser and gets a few cubes to plop in his mug and waits a few seconds before he takes his first long sip. He cracks his eyes open to take in the time on the stove, seeing that its three am, and grumbles to himself again.

Mornings are definitely not his favorite time of the day, but a baker must be up and going well before sunrise, especially this time of year. Metaline Falls, Washington gets hot in the summer, and he likes to get a head start on the heat to get a good portion of the week's baking started. Sundays are for pre-baking the pie shells and he'll also get the day's normal baking done. He's got another baker, Jess, who comes in and helps him out during the week and takes Saturdays so he can get a full day off, but Dean's on his own for Sundays, just like when he first started. He's the only one allowed to put the pies together since he spells them with good fortune runes, and no one messes with his bread and butter.

So to speak.

He drains the rest of the mug and sets it in the sink, feeling marginally more awake as he makes his way back to the bedroom. He pulls on a pair of his soft and torn-up work jeans and throws on a white t-shirt and grabs a pair of socks before he stops in the bathroom to swipe on some deodorant. He makes his way to the kitchen and roots around for his Coleman thermos. He makes up this batch of coffee with a little cream and sugar before pouring it into the thermos and closing it tightly and screwing the travel cup back on top. Fuel in hand, he makes his way into the living room and pulls his socks and boots on. He puts his wallet in his back pocket and grabs his keys before he remembers his phone is still in the bedroom. He jogs back to the room, swipes it up and slips it in his other back pocket and after a moment's deliberation grabs his Bluetooth earbuds too, before he makes his way back to the front door, grabs the thermos, and lets himself out into the morning air.

Thanks to the early hour it’s not hot yet, so Dean stops to take a breath, letting the calm seep into him. The holly bush next to the porch rustles as a starling flies out of it, and Dean tracks it until it disappears into the sky. He takes a sip of his coffee as he clambers down the steps and over to the Impala. He climbs in, situates the thermos in the seat so it doesn't roll around, and heads out to the bakery.

He lets himself into the back of the store, humming under his breath. He flips the lights on and sets his things down on his desk before he digs his phone and earbuds out of his pocket and queues up one of his playlists before he whips an apron around his waist. He pulls everything out for the pie crusts and sets the ovens to pre-heating and loses himself in the familiar rhythm of making dough, rolling it out, and lining the pie tins. He carefully draws the charms on the bottom of each crust before stacking them in the fridge to store until he's ready to bake them.

He catches a movement out of the corner of his eye as he moves to start mixing the dough for bread. He looks up to see Alicia come in and head to the front to start cleaning and getting it ready for the morning run and waves, catching her bright smile and a wave back.

The kitchen gets hotter and hotter as the sun comes up, and Dean stays lost in the rhythms of his work and music. He can feel his other employees moving around him and taking the freshly baked goods out to their display cases. He smiles to himself at the thought of each of the good fortune runes making it to people who need them.

Witching Flours is mainly a bakery, but they also sell basic coffee brews for those in need of the pick me up alongside the food going in their belly. Nothing fancy, just the basic black gold and options set on a counter for cream, half and half, brown and white sugar, honey, and various spices for people to add to their cups as desired. Food-wise, they offer bread loaves, muffins, cinnamon rolls the size of your head with regular icing and orange icing in the fall, various types of cookies, and of course, pies.

Dean's mom had cheered for her eldest when he told her he wanted to open a bakery and given him all of her recipes. He's gathered a few on his own, of course, but the basic items he'd started with were all from her. He smiles as he thinks of his mom, all frizzy blond hair and flour handprints permanently on her backside from wiping her hands on her jeans. She's retired now, living a few streets over in a cute little rancher that Dean had helped her paint when she bought it a few years back when she'd finally decided she was tired of living in Lawrence all by herself. So, she packed everything up, threw it into a Uhaul and drove for three days to get to Metaline Falls. Mary had moved in with Dean for a few months while she looked for a house and used the opportunity to harp on him to hire more people and start taking some time for himself. After all, how was he supposed to settle down with someone nice if he worked all the time?

So, he'd hired Jess, Kevin, and a goofy guy named Garth to work alongside himself, Mary, and Krissy, his only help at the time. Alicia and Max, the twins, came shortly after. Max doesn't work for him anymore, deciding instead to work with Cas, and Mary finally retired, but all in all, he's got a good little crew going for the bakery. They watch each other’s backs and bully their coworkers into taking a day off if needed and lean on each other for support. He may not have a significant other in his life, be he _does_ have family, here at the bakery and with the town in general.

He steadily works his way through mixing dough and assembling the assorted pies for the week - strawberry, blackberry, and a few blueberry for the seasonal and the classics otherwise - and by the time he realizes he's heard _Ramble On_ three times since he started listening that morning, its noon and just about time for him to wrap up and go home. He takes the earbuds out as Alicia comes back into the kitchen with what he hopes is the last load of dishes.

"Hey there boss, was wondering if you were going to join us mere mortals today," she snarks at him as she drops the tub off with Kevin.

"Oh hush you. Just feelin' out of sorts today, felt like listening to music while I worked." Dean shrugs. "I guess it wasn't a bad thing since I'm pretty sure all we'll have to do is actually bake a lot of the stuff I put together today for the week."

Alicia crosses his arms and leans against the wall. "This have anything to do with Cas?"

Dean scoffs. "No." Alicia levels a look at him and raises one of her eyebrows. "...Maybe."

"You know, if you would just talk to her..." she stops at Dean's raised hand.

"No. One, I'm not going to put that on her with all of this shit going on right now. Two," he sighs and rubs his neck. "I don't know Alicia. We've been friends since I moved here, but..." He shrugs and Alicia nods.

"Yeah, I get it. She's a hard one to get a read on." She pushes off the wall and heads to the office. "Well, for what it's worth, I think you should talk to her." She disappears into the office and Dean turns back to the mess he'd made and sets to cleaning it up and putting everything away.

It's one by the time the kitchen is clean and everything is in its place and Dean checks over the front of the shop to make sure everything is locked down before he heads home.

After a quick shower to get the flour out of his hair and off his person, Dean throws on his dirty jeans from yesterday and a clean shirt and heads out to the shed to get the tools to finish the front yard. Hey lays everything out before he runs back inside for his Craft herbs to sprinkle in the trench before he fills it in, just for one last bit of oompf.

When he makes his way back out into the yard, he realizes he has a furry audience. He waves at Cosmos, who's perched in the tree from yesterday. He’s ignored, so he shrugs and heads out to mix the herbs and set his intent into the barrier and fill in the trench.

A few hours later, just as he's finishing shoveling the last foot of dirt back in, Cosmos streaks over into his yard again. She brushes up against his leg before she runs over to her spot on the porch and Dean grins.

"Hey there Cosmos. Good timing, I need to spell you to the barrier so you don't have to use the arches. Just hang out over there until I get done and don't try to cross again until I get you attuned, alright?"

A chirping meow is his only response.

He huffs a laugh and shakes his head, droplets of sweat flying off his nose as he does. He focuses on the shovel in his hands and the dirt being moved back to its rightful place, focusing his intent again. When he feels the spell take hold, he sags a little against the handle, spade buried in the dirt. He's not done, he still needs to spread grass seed and water it all, but it's good enough for him to take a break and not have to worry about people getting into the yard. He looks up at the sky, taking note that the sun is starting to slink down close to the horizon. His stomach speaks up with a rumble, and he figures it's a good enough time for a snack.

He leans the shovel against the house and makes his way up the stairs. He gives Cosmos a distracted wave as he passes her and heads right into the kitchen to make a sandwich (hey, it's a snack) and guzzles down a glass of water. He refills it, gets another one for Cosmos, and takes his goods out to the porch, dumping Cosmos' bowl and refilling it with the fresh water. She jumps down from the rail and takes a hearty drink as he settles himself into the chair and applies himself to the sandwich with gusto.

As he finishes, Cosmos wanders over and sits down in front of him, blinking up at him. Dean is suddenly grateful that he's been taking the allergy meds every day when his nose doesn't start itching. He looks down at the cat. "What do you want?"

She licks her chops and blinks at him again.

"Wait, are you asking for a bite of my sandwich?"

She blinks again.

"O-kay, sure." He rips a piece of bread and meat off and leans over to hand it to her. She won't get close enough to take it from him, though, so he ends up tossing it over to her. She scarfs it down in the blink of an eye and looks up at him again.

"Oh no. No way am I giving you more than that. If you're hungry I'm more than happy to hit the store on the way home tomorrow and get some cat food, but I am not sharing any more human food with you."

She sniffs and turns her back on him. He shakes his head at her antics and finishes his sandwich. When he's finished, he brushes the crumbs off his lap before eyeing the cat in front of him.

"You know, I know that you don't trust me and are perfectly happy if I never get close to you, but I'm going to have to touch you to get you attuned to the spell."

She stops cleaning herself and looks back at him, tongue still sticking out of her mouth. He can _see_ the thoughts whirling around in her head as she comes to her decision. After a few minutes, her tongue disappears back into her mouth as she gracefully gets to her feet and saunters over to him, tail straight up in the air.

She does a full body rub up against his ankle before she plops herself down next to his foot and looks up at him, blinking once.

"Is that an ‘OK’ from you?"

She blinks again.

Dean narrows his eyes at her. _She can't really understand me, can she?_ he thinks to himself, but he slowly reaches down to touch her back. He stays well away from the collar around her neck as he slides his hand across her fur ( _Holy crap that's soft!)_ and murmurs the spell under his breath. He feels the tingle of his magic transferring over to Cosmos and he figures she can as well because she stands up and arches her back into his hand, pressing her face against his leg again. As the tingles fade away, he can feel her body vibrating under his fingers and realizes the cat is purring. He pets her a few times more before he sits back.

She almost looks regretful that he's pulled away.

"Alright girly. You're all set now to cross anywhere you want to. If you're still hungry you should probably get home and eat since Cas sets food out for you. I'll make sure to have some good stuff for you here tomorrow, OK?"

She tilts her head at him, chirps, then streaks over to her normal spot to jump down and head back to Cas' place. He smiles as she makes it across the barrier without stopping and feels his chest puff up a little with pride at a spell well cast. When he sees her tail vanish in the backyard he gets up, finishes off the water in his glass, and heads back out into the yard to seed the bare earth.

He's just finishing watering the side near Cas' place when she gets home. When she gets out of the car, she looks over and waves.

"Oh! You finished!"

"Sure did. Just finished putting down grass seed too. Ah! Stop!" He crosses over to her side of the yard and stops her by grabbing her shoulders before she can actually step over the barrier and casts the attunement spell on her before letting her go. As he looks at her face, he thinks her eyes glow faintly before she blinks and the illusion is gone. "Alright, _now_ you can come over."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot."

"'S alright Cas. I just really didn't want the first victim to be you since it’s for your cat and all. And I guess technically for you, too."

Cas lays a hand on his cheek. "You are so sweet."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Come on, we need to figure out what we are calling in for dinner, cause I'm way too tired to cook tonight and I'm starving, even with the sandwich I ate earlier."

Cas chuckles. "I'll even buy again. Just to thank you."

Dean grins as she slips her arm in his and they meander across the yard to his porch. "Thai?"

"Mm, that sounds amazing. Your usual?"

"You got it, babe." He presses a kiss to her cheek. "You are the best ever, you know that?"

Cas hums, a slight blush staining her cheeks, and pats his arm. "You go in and get showered. I'll get the rest of this put away."

"Sounds good!" Dean carries the bag of seed back to the shed before he darts inside to get himself clean again.

Best day ever.


	2. Chapter 2

Monday is much the same as Sunday was at work, just with the addition of Jess in the kitchen. The bubbly blond is a perfect match for Dean in the snark department, and they work well together. Sam had been the one to introduce them, as they had dated for a while when they were in college but had parted ways when Sam had taken off to a four-year university to study veterinary medicine. They stayed friends, but Jess had no desire to ever leave the sleepy town she's lived in her whole life, and Dean had happily hired her on after some urging from his mom.

Dean had moved them here shortly after Sam graduated high school. The death of their father in a drunk driving accident (the drinking one of the many reasons Mary had left John when the boys were still little) had people in Lawrence looking at both boys sideways like they expected one or both to follow in their old man's footsteps. And being LGBT (bi specifically for Dean) in Kansas? That was just asking for trouble. So, the boys got together one night, hung up a map of the US, and started throwing darts. Mary had looked on, amused, as they missed over and over before they landed one at the very edge of the border between the States and Canada.

And so off they went.

Dean's happy as a pig in shit here though. It's a small town, but the people here care about each other in ways that he's not found anywhere else. And with the addition of finding his best friend in the whole world in Castiel when they moved here, well.

That was just a bonus.

Dean stumbles as Jess hip checks him as she heads to the front. "What'cha thinkin’ about there, boss man?"

"Oh, you know. Contemplating the cosmos," Dean says before he realizes what he said and blushes to the tips of his ears.

Jess's laugh rings through the kitchen. "Oh man, you'll never be able to use that on me again Winchester! Cause now I'll just assume you're thinkin’ about Cas!"

Dean throws a handful of flour at her. "You hush your mouth, heathen. I'll have you know that Carl Sagan said something of the like in one of his books."

"Uh-huh," she says as she brushes the powder off the front of her clothes. She looks up in time to get a face full of flour and splutters. "Methinks he doth protest too much," she mutters under her breath.

Dean pointedly ignores her and looks up at the clock. "Alright, Blondie, it's well past time for me to get out of here and let the crew finish out the day." He runs down what's left to do for the day as he divests himself of his apron and gets shooed out of his own place of business. "Dude, what's the rush to get me out of here?"

"No reason. Just tired of lookin’ at your stupid face is all. Go on, get out of here until tomorrow."

He waves her off and jogs across the street to the grocery store. He eventually finds the pet food aisle and just stands and stares at the sheer number of cat food cans on the shelves. He lets his eyes wander over the labels before he takes a breath and fishes his phone out of his pocket. He researches for a little bit before settling on Friskies (being middle of the road and having plenty of flavor options) and doubles back to get a cart so he can get one of each. He figures he can let Cosmos pick out her favorites, and he'll come back and stock up on those. He grabs a few ceramic bowls and toys and heads to the checkout before he can buy any more stuff that he's sure Cosmos won't even look at.

He blanches a little at the total ( _fuzzbutt better like at least one of these cans of food),_ but he pays and gathers his bags, putting them in the trunk of the Impala. He's actually looking forward to seeing Cosmos this afternoon. He's never had a pet before, even with Sam's tendency to bring home strays and nurse them back to good health, so Cosmos hanging around is a novel idea for him.

The feline in question is waiting for him on the railing when he pulls up to the house. "Heya Cosmos," he calls as he gets out of the car. "Got you some treats and stuff."

She jumps down and makes a beeline to him as he unloads the trunk, winding around his ankles. She dodges out of the way when he starts toward the house, and Dean casts a charm to unlock and open the door since his hands are full. Cosmos trails behind him as he goes into the kitchen and lays the bags down on the table. She hops up and sticks her head into the first bag, the one with the bowls in it, and pulls it back out, wrinkling her nose.

Dean laughs. "Impatient much? Don't worry, I got stuff to go in those bowls. Just gimme a sec." He pulls the cans out and lines them up for her to inspect, and when she noses at one of them, he picks it up. "Chunky Beef in Savory Gravy, huh? That actually sounds kinda good."

He sets it to the side and puts the other cans away in the pantry and washes the bowls. Cosmos sits and waits patiently on the table, watching the whole time. When Dean brings the dish back to the table and pops the tab on the can she chirps and stands up, practically dancing in place. He starts to dump the food in the bowl and Cosmos apparently has decided she's been patient long enough and sticks her head in and starts licking at the gravy before it’s all out of the can.

"Well, I guess we can call this one a winner then." Dean rips the label off the can before he rinses it out and tosses it in the recycle bin. He sits down at the table while Cosmos eats, listening to her happy purrs and smiling. He tentatively reaches out to her, but when his fingers make contact with her fur, she looks up at him, freezing him in place.

"It's OK. I'm not going after the key, I promise. I just... Can I pet you again? Please?"

She tilts her head and licks her chops, apparently thinking it over before she shuffles her body closer to him and goes back to eating. Dean strokes her back from her shoulder blades to the base of her tail, chuckling when she raises her back end up when he starts scratching gently.

"I got you some toys and plenty of different types of food to try. I have no idea what cats like, so we can try all of them and see which ones you like the best. If you don't like one, we can toss it and try another one." He falls silent as he continues to pet her gently, stopping and scratching in random places until she finishes her lunch.

Face raised from the bowl, she licks her chops to get the stray gravy before she walks over to him and head butts him. She rubs her face across his, and he laughs a little when her whiskers drag across his stubble.

"I'm glad you liked that one." He stands up and gives her one last pat. "Alright. I stink, so I'm going to shower. Feel free to hang out or whatever, I'll leave the door open for you."

The rest of the week passes mostly the same. Dean gets home and feeds Cosmos. They hang out for a few hours before Cosmos decides to abandon him to go do whatever cats do, and then Dean putters around the house or yard until either it's time for him to crash or Cas comes over, and they hang out while having dinner. She seems to be more relaxed as well, and he comments on it Thursday night.

She shrugs. "People, _men_ , haven't really been all that interested in me the last few days. I have no idea where my cat is since I'm fairly sure she's running away from them all day, but they are at least leaving me alone for once."

Dean scratches the back of his neck. "Well, I don't know what she does while I'm at work, but she likes to hang out for a while here with me when I get home. We've got a little ritual at this point."

Cas twists around on the couch, attention firmly on him instead of the re-run of _Dr. Sexy_. "Oh? Do tell."

"Eh, you know. She meets me on the porch, and I feed her a can of food. She lets me pet her as long as I stay away from the collar, and then we either hang out for a bit, or she takes off to your place or the woods."

"She's actually _eating_ that stuff?"

Dean nods. "Yup. She's picked out a few that she really likes, actually." He hauls himself off the couch and grabs the labels of the ones Cosmos had indicated she genuinely liked. "I kept the labels so that I don't forget which ones were the winners."

Dean looks up and feels himself blush at the soft look Cas is giving him. "You really like her, don't you, Dean?"

Dean nods, fiddling with the paper. "Yeah."

Cas gets up and crowds into his personal space, putting a hand on his cheek. "I'm glad."

Friday morning is when Dean feels like the world tilts on its axis.

He's humming along to the oldies station as he cleans his workstation when Kevin barrels into the kitchen, red in the face. When Dean looks up from what he's doing and catches sight of the young Fae, he drops the cloth and hurries over to steady him, gripping his shoulders.

"Kev? What's going on man, are you OK?"

Kevin swallows and nods. "Dean, someone is out there poking around asking for Cas. Keeps calling her ‘Cassie’ though."

Dean nods. "Alright, I'll get out there. What caused this reaction, though?"

Kevin shudders. "He's a Witch. Not a bad one, but he also doesn't really care about anyone else, if you get my drift."

Dean's mouth flattens out. "Yeah, I get you. Alright, kid, get yourself pulled back together and I'll see what I can do to fish some info out of him." He pats Kevin on the shoulder and makes his way out to the front of the store. As he steps around the counter and sees a short man with floppy gold-blond hair wandering around the shop with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey man," Dean says, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. "I understand you are looking for Castiel?"

The dude turns around and swaggers over to Dean with a leer on his face as he rakes his gaze over Dean's body. "Why, yes, I am. And you are?"

"Name's Dean. Can I ask why you are looking for Castiel?"

The man rocks back on his heels. "Oh, you know. Wanted to catch up. Shoot the shit. You know."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. And you know Castiel how exactly?"

Dude waves his hand like he's Obi-Wan fuckin' Kenobi. "Doesn't matter."

Dean can feel a wave of anger in him rising rapidly at the antagonistic asshole in front of him. "Look, dude. I don't know who you are, and honestly, I don't give a fuck. She's laid down her terms, and if you want to get in her pants-"

"WOAH!" The blond throws his hands up and stumbles back a few steps. "Hold on there, buddy. Dude, no." He blanches, shudders, then continues. "No man, she's my sister!"

Dean feels the blood drain out of his face so fast he almost stumbles. "Come again?"

The man in front of him, ( _Cas' brother?!_ his brain helpfully supplies _),_ runs a hand down his face. "I think I should start over." He steps over to Dean and sticks out a hand for Dean to shake. "Hi, I'm Gabe. I'm looking for my sister, Castiel. It's been a while and I'd like to catch up with her."

Numbly, Dean takes his hand and shakes it. "Dean Winchester, Cas' friend." _I thought I was, anyway..._ Dean gestures at Gabe to follow him and leads him back into the kitchen. "Hey Kevin, I've got this all sorted out. You're safe to go back out front." The young man nods tightly at him and scuttles back out to the counter as the bell dings, signaling a new customer. Dean points Gabe to his office and closes the door behind them.

Dean collapses into his chair and rubs a hand over his face, scrunching his nose when he realizes he still has flour all over his hands. He sighs and drops his hand to his lap. "Sorry about that, by the way."

Gabe waves him off. "Nah, man. I get the feeling from the conversations I've had today you had every right to bow up at me. I was coming off shifty as hell and you were just trying to protect Cassie."

Dean huffs a laugh. "Yeah, well. Brother, huh?"

Gabe nods. "Yeah. I take it she's never said anything?"

Dean shakes his head sadly. "Naw man, I had no idea. She doesn't talk about her past much at all."

Gabe nods. "I guess I deserve that. Our folks were never anything worth a damn, but..." he trails off, seemingly lost in thought. He shakes himself back to the present and refocuses on Dean. "So, now that you know I'm not some creepy-ass stalker, how is she?"

Dean runs a hand over his face then sighs. "I should catch you up on the town gossip first since you clearly have no idea what's going on."

By the time Dean drags himself home, he's exhausted. Between the early morning and the emotional roller coaster learning about Cas' family, he's ready to just say fuck it and take himself to bed. But he knows that if he goes to bed right now, he won’t actually sleep because of the thoughts swirling around in his head.

Cas has a brother. _Holy shit._

He's pretty much been an open book to her since they became friends after he moved here. She'd been living here for a few years by the time he relocated, but kept to herself, much like she does now. Castiel is a woman who doesn't need a man in her life, thank you very much, but she managed to worm her way under his skin. She's everything to him, but...

"I guess she still doesn't trust me, even after all these years," he mutters to himself as he parks the Impala. He rubs a hand down his face and glances over at Cas' house, glad to see that her car is not there, and Cosmos is nowhere to be seen. He just really needs to be alone right now.

He heaves himself out of the car and gets himself in the house. He flips Netflix on and brings up _How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days_ before he makes his way into the kitchen. He roots around the pantry, trying to find something to eat, but nothing really grabs his interest, so instead, he digs the mint chocolate chip out of the freezer and grabs a spoon. He forgoes getting out a bowl, figuring he'll just eat it out of the carton.

He drops the ice cream off on the coffee table, casting a keep-cold charm on it, and jumps into the shower to wash the flour off him. He forgoes regular clothing in favor of comfortable pajama pants and an old t-shirt with a pair of nerdy socks Charlie got him for Christmas a few years ago that is covered in Death Stars. Finally, he plops down on the couch, wraps himself in the blankets draped across the back of it, hits play on the movie, and digs into the ice cream.

He watches Kate and Matthew with their shenanigans mindlessly for about a half an hour, working his way through the ice cream. His mental state spirals as he watches, mental voice obsessing over Cas' seeming lack of desire to share things about herself with him. He truly doesn't understand her reasoning for keeping something like _family_ hidden from him. She knows his entire history.

That thought brings him up short. He _has_ shared everything with her, but what if she didn't really want to know? What if she just let him ramble on and tell her things that Charlie doesn't even know just to placate him? What if-

A scratching noise jerks him out of his mind spiral. He narrows his eyes and casts a look toward the door, wondering if he's just hearing things, but the noise comes again, and this time he can hear a muffled yowl. Cosmos must be wondering why she's been locked out, then. He sighs but drags himself off the couch, not bothering to pause the movie, and crosses the living room to open the front door.

Cosmos must have been stretched up, reaching for a new spot on his door to scratch because when he opens the door, she falls forward into the house. She chirps and rubs against his shins, but he backs away from her, shuts the door, and goes back to the couch.

It's a little too warm in the house to bundle up in the blanket like he is, but he's firmly in wallowing territory, so he casts another keep-cold charm, this time on the ceiling fan. The temperature change is immediate, and he falls over on his side and tugs the blanket around his body firmly, eyes being the only thing exposed so he can pretend to continue watching the movie.

Cosmos, for her part, looks as shocked as a cat can before she chirps and wanders over to the table and jumps up onto it next to the now empty ice cream carton. He feels guilty for a few seconds before he remembers that the thing had been mostly empty anyway. Cosmos sniffs at the container and licks it a few times before Dean grunts at her, warning her away from eating any more. She turns her attention to him and leaps over onto the couch and sniffs at his face. He wrinkles his nose as her whiskers tickle his forehead and jerks away from her questing nose. She chirrups lowly again and presses her body to the top of his head and starts purring. He sighs and angles his head up so he's looking her in the eye.

"What," he says flatly.

She chirps at him again and rubs her chin on his nose.

Dean's eyes cross as he tries to watch her. "I've had a bad day."

Cosmos flops down on her side and lays her head down on her paws as if to say, _"well, I'm right here, talk to me."_

Dean squints at her. "I can't believe I'm talking about my personal problems with a cat. Oh well, here goes." He sits up and tells her about Gabe barging into the bakery that morning, and some of the things they talked about. Gabe had flatly refused to tell Dean anything about their family history, citing that if Cas hadn't already told him, he sure the hell wasn't about to spill the beans. He sits up, rearranging the blanket and wrapping himself in it again. "I just, I dunno Cosmos. I feel like she doesn't trust me. I mean, obviously, she doesn't trust me since she hasn't ever really told me shit about her life before I met her. She never really talks about herself either." He looks at Cosmos. "What if I'm just a shitty friend and she only sticks around because she feels sorry for me? Gods, what if she doesn't like me at all and just puts up with me?" A tear trickles down his face, and he sniffles. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and-"

He's cut off by Cosmos launching herself into his lap and nipping at him. When he jerks out of his head, he realizes that there's hoarfrost on _everything_. His depression has made the keep-cold charm plunge into dangerous temperatures. His teeth are chattering, and his nose feels numb as he banishes the charm and feels the room start to warm up slowly. Dean becomes aware of the cat in his lap again, who is looking at him sternly.

"Holy shit," he whispers. Cosmos' entire body softens, and she shoves her way into the blanket burrito with him. She tucks up next to his chest and starts purring as hard as she can (or so it feels when his chest is resonating with her purrs) and starts gently making biscuits in the blanket. He wraps his arms around her and hugs her. "Thank you," he breathes into her fur, realizing that Cosmos very likely saved his ass by shocking him out of his downward spiral. She chirps, nips his chin softly, and they stay curled in each other until Dean calms down enough to loosen his hold on her. She stands up on his thighs and looks at him for a few seconds, head cocked to the side in a way that reminds him of Cas. She evidently comes to some decision, because she rubs her cheeks all over his face. He shivers as her fur rasps through his stubble, and he sets his forehead to hers, rubbing his thumb under her chin. They sit like that until the movie ends and a trailer for Disenchantment starts playing. He looks up, and she jumps down, bolting for the kitchen. He grins at her antics and follows her. She's earned her can of food for the day.

Dean decides, in true Winchester fashion, that the key to dealing with the hurt he's feeling is to avoid the problem.

Which means avoiding Cas.

So, when Cosmos wanders out later that afternoon, Dean locks the front door and turns off all the lights in the house, a clear signal to Cas that he's already gone to bed. It's something that he hasn't done in a while, and he feels guilty, but he needs time to come to grips with what he's learned. He hears her soft knock sometime around seven pm, but resolutely ignores it, even as it tears him up inside to do so.

The next morning is hell, thanks to his brain not letting him sleep, but he manages to get himself to the bakery and starts on the day. Jess is there waiting for him with a sunny smile and he lets her chatter soothe him. They make a great team, and by ten am, she's shoving him out the door.

"Seriously, Dean, you look half dead. Go home. We got this," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. "Don't make me call Sam."

Dean gasps dramatically and places a hand to his heart. "You wouldn't."

In response, Jess pulls her phone out of her back pocket and navigates to her contacts. Dean can hear it ring a few times before Jess's face softens. "Hey, babe."

Dean throws his hands up. "OK! Alright, fine. I'll go home. Happy, you harpy?"

Jess blows a kiss to him in response as she laughs at whatever story Sam is telling her from the morning's clients. Dean shakes his head at her in exasperation as he gathers up his things and hauls out of the bakery before she makes good on her threat.

Dean decides he doesn't want to go home just yet, so he throws everything into the Impala and walks down Main, enjoying the morning. Fall is starting to settle in, so he makes a mental note to put up the orange streamers at the back of his property where it butts up to the forest. The area doesn't get many hunters, but one bullet hole in the house was too many, and the streamers he puts up lets anyone know that the forest ends there and to please kindly not shoot his direction.

He swings into the General Store and grabs a few more cans of Cosmos' favorite food and is heading back to the bakery when Bobby comes out of the hardware store and stops him.

"Dean, hold up a sec." Dean jogs back over to the older man. "Son, you still watching out for Cas' idjit cat?" At Dean's nod, Bobby's face turns a dark red. "Good. Some knucklehead just bought me out of those bear-type traps, the ones for catching smaller game for pelt. I think that fool plans to try to catch her cat with 'em."

Dean's vision goes red. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Son, I have no idea who they are, but I can get you a picture of 'em off the cams." He waves at Dean to follow him inside. Dean trails him, vision still a little hazy with his rage, as Bobby continues. "I know Cas means well with this fool plan of hers, but I won't stand to see a little cat like that git hurt."

Bobby ducks behind the counter and fiddles in the office for a few seconds before Dean hears a printer whine. "Alright. Here's what the bastard looks like." Dean takes the picture and commits the face to memory before he folds it up and sticks it in his back pocket.

"Thanks, Bobby. I'll drop this off with Cas too, so she knows to look out for him. Did you catch a name by chance?"

Bobby snorts. "Damn right I did. Luc Morningstar."

Dean claps a hand to Bobby's shoulder. "Thanks, man, I appreciate it. I'm sure Cas will too. Go by the bakery before they close up shop today and get you a pie on me."

Bobby shifts on his feet. "Ah hell, son, just lookin' out for you kids. I won't say no to one of your pies, though, so thanks or whatever."

Dean waves goodbye as he leaves the store and makes a beeline over to Cas' bookstore. He groans a little when he sees Marv hanging out pestering Cas at the front counter but pushes past him and the ball of hurt sitting in his chest.

"Hey Cas, can we chat for a sec?"

She nods at him and excuses herself from Marv. "What's wrong, Dean?"

Dean pulls the picture out of his pocket and explains what Bobby told him. "Just watch out for this creep, OK?" he hands the paper over to her, and she takes it.

"I will. Thank you, Dean."

Dean shifts uncomfortably. "Alright, so, I'm just gonna-" he points at the door and speed walks his way out, leaving Cas to stare after him sadly.

When Dean gets home, he half expects to see those traps set up or for Cosmos to be waiting for him, but neither end up being the case. He blows out a breath and rakes his hands through his hair. Might as well get started on the border marking anyway, just in case.

He digs the bright orange tape out of the shed and grabs a sharp knife before he heads back to the tree line. He starts on the far edge of his own property and slowly makes his way across, tying a streamer to each of the trees, making sure to leave a good bit to flutter in the wind. As soon as he steps over the property line to Cas' place, however, he feels his heart drop to his shoes.

Nestled in a pile of leaves just inside the tree line, Dean can see a glint of metal. Mindful of what he's learned from Bobby, he casts around for a long branch and starts poking around in the middle of the leaf pile. After the third prod, a loud _snap_ cracks through the forest as the trap snaps shut and snaps the stick in his hands in half. Dean shivers, imaging Cosmos' leg getting caught in a trap like that.

He doesn't get long to ponder, however, when he hears someone crashing through the woods towards him. Dean ducks behind a tree, muttering a no-see-me spell under his breath.

A tall blond man breaks cover. "I expected that to take a little longer." He leans over and sees the trap with the branch caught in it and makes a disgusted noise. "Damn."

Dean can't hold his anger back anymore and steps out from behind the tree. "Hey loser, you realize that hunting season is like, months off, right?"

The jerk starts, surprised, and Dean gets a good look at his face for the first time. It is, in fact, the same man who'd gone into Bobby's store for the traps, and anger rips through him. He swiftly advances on Luc with clenched fists and swings with a right hook, connecting with the man's jaw. Luc snarls at Dean as he stumbles back, but recovers swiftly, throwing up his left arm to block Dean's next punch.

At first, Luc's able to give as good as he gets, busting Dean's nose and splitting his left eyebrow. But he's obviously not an experienced fighter and eventually Dean's able to wrestle him down to the ground. He sits on Luc's back and hogties him before pulling his cell phone out of his back pocket, dialing the Sheriff's office.

"Hey, Jody. I've got someone here that's decided that it's OK to set out traps right behind Cas' house."

"I'll be right there. You OK?"

Dean looks down at the hand not holding the phone with a grimace. "Yeah, just a few cuts. I've got salve at the house that'll fix me right up."

"Alright, Dean. I'm getting in the car now, be there in five."

Dean hangs up the phone and puts it back into his pocket before he looks down at Luc. "Dude, seriously? What made you think this was a good idea?"

Luc glares up at him. "What? It's not liked the cat has to stick around."

Dean shakes his head in exasperation. Men are so stupid. He hears rustling and looks up to see Sheriff Mills making her way to them.

"That him?" she nods at Luc.

Dean stands up and hauls Luc up with him. "Yup. Luc Morningstar. Bought a bunch of traps from Bobby this morning and brought them out here. He's got at least one set up right here at the tree line. It's too early for hunting season, and pelt trapping is illegal out here anyway. Bobby thinks he bought the traps to capture Cosmos, and after the brief conversation we just had, I agree with him."

Jody makes her way over to the trap Dean had set off and sucks a breath through her teeth. "If it didn't kill her, it would definitely cripple her."

"Yeah, I know. It broke a branch as thick as my wrist right in half when I set it off."

Jody glares at Luc. "I can't do a damn thing about his plans for Cosmos, but I _can_ throw his ass in jail for poaching. I'll take it from here, Dean."

Dean cuts the tape from the man's wrists so Jody can handcuff him and lead him back to her car. Dean trails behind her and watches as she shoves Luc none-to-gently into the back of the cruiser. After she slams the door on him, she turns back to Dean.

"You sure you're OK?"

Dean waves her off. "I promise, nothing that salve can't fix. And if for some reason it can't, I'll go bug Charlie." Dean glances over his shoulder. "Do you think there's something we can do about the other traps?"

Jody nods. "I'll check with Bobby and find out how many he bought, then ask Frank to come out here with his metal detector. He'll be able to find them faster that way. Plus, Frank has no love for assholes who use traps for pelting."

Dean chuckles darkly. "Yeah. With him being a Shifter, I'm not surprised by that. That old wolf could probably find the traps even without the detector."

Jody grins and claps his shoulder. "Just don't shoot the old coot, alright?"

Dean laughs. "Alright, if you insist. Get on out of here so I can go put myself to rights."

Jody squeezes his shoulder and drops into her cruiser. She waves as they pull out, and Dean sees Cas running across the yard toward him.

"Dean! What happened?"

"It's nothin' Cas, just some busted knuckles."

Cas scowls at him as she takes in the bruise on his jaw, the blood on his face, and what Dean imagines as a nice pair of raccoon eyes starting from the lucky shot Luc had gotten in on his nose. He chuckles and turns toward his house. He stumbles a few steps when Cas shoves him, though, and whips around to look at her. "What the hell, Cas?"

"What. Happened."

Dean sighs. "Come on in, I'll tell you as I get myself cleaned up." She stomps up the stairs behind him and pushes past when they make it to the kitchen. She shoves him at one of the stools and silently tells him to sit before whirling away and stomping down the hallway to his bathroom where the first aid supplies are.

Dean sits. He may be hurt by Cas keeping stuff from him, but he'd like to think he's far from stupid. Most of the time.

Cas bustles back into the kitchen, a whirling dervish of brown hair and tan trench coat, and deposits the kit on the bar. "Where's the Plantain salve?"

Dean points over her shoulder to where the new batch is steeping on the windowsill, and she snatches it and a few other things from the window before gently setting them down next to the kit. She braces her hands on the bar, drops her head between her shoulders, and draws in a shuddering breath. "Will you tell me what happened now?" she asks quietly.

Dean gives her a quick rundown of the afternoon and relays the plan to find the rest of the traps to her as she cleans up his face. Her hands are gentle, but Dean can see the stress on her face and in the set of her shoulders.

When she gets to his knuckles, Dean can't hold it in anymore. "Cas... I met your brother yesterday."

Cas goes still for a split second before she continues to dab at hand. "I know," she says quietly. "I saw him last night."

Dean nods. "I'm glad."

The kitchen is quiet for a few moments until Cas speaks again. "Dean I- I'm sorry I never told you about Gabe. About my family. I just- I've been estranged for so long I honestly never thought I'd see any of them ever again and-"

Dean cups her face with his free hand, startling her into silence. "It's alright, Cas. I'm not going to say that I'm not hurt, me being an open book and all to you, but you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

Cas bites her lip and looks down at the floor. She shuffles her feet until Dean takes the hint and drops his hand.

"Go on home, Cas. I can wrap my hand up and get the rest of this taken care of." He sees her hesitate and thinks for half a second that she's going to talk to him, but then her shoulders drop, and she turns away. He watches silently as the person he thought was his best friend walks out of his house, shutting the door gently.


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel trots through the underbrush, keeping away from the leaves and hidden traps that haven't been gathered up yet. Luc had laid out more than what he'd bought from Bobby, so she made a mental note of each location. She slithers around a maple tree, rubbing her cheek on the rough bark to let others know this was her territory before she moves on. She looks over her backyard, seeing it empty before she makes her way to the porch. She flops down on the chair and looks over at Dean's house, heart hurting.

It's been two days since the traps were discovered, and Luc arrested for hunting out of season. Two days since Dean had punched the vile excuse of a man and sat on him.

Two days since she last spoke with her best friend.

Tail lashing, she heaves a sigh and lays her head down on her paws. Gabe showing up was dredging up memories of a family who didn't understand her, a painful time in her life. She's missed her brother dearly, but it's thrown her reluctance to talk to anyone about her past into the light and, ultimately, hurt her friend.

She flops around on the cushion, growling low in her chest until she squirms into a ball. She tucks her nose under her tail and thinks about the last time she'd seen her brother.

_"Cassie! Come on, don't be like this."_

_"Like what? A freak?"_

_Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. "You know that's not what I meant."_

_Castiel huffed and looked away, arms wrapped around her stomach. "It's what everyone else around here means. A Shifter in a family of humans. Humans that don't even like cats, I might add." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I_ am _a freak, Gabe. Our parents can't even look at me anymore."_

_Gabe pulled her into his chest, hugging her tight. "I know, sweetie. Look, I know you need to get out of here. There's nothing for you here, no one who can understand you, let alone anyone who will try. Let's go back inside, make a plan. Anywhere you want to go, we'll do it."_

_She sniffled and drew away, looking at Gabe. "You mean it?"_

_"You bet, kiddo. Let me go get my shit packed in the car, and we'll do it tonight. You're eighteen, graduated, and ready for the big wide world." He chuffed her chin. "Give me an hour, two tops, and we'll just pick a direction and drive. It'll just be us Novaks."_

_She wiped her cheeks and nodded. "OK. Let's do it."_

She hadn't gotten the chance to find out what taking off with Gabe would be like. Her parents handed her a bundle of cash when she walked in and told her to get out.

_"You're an adult. We no longer want you here."_

She twitches the skin along her spine, trying to shrug off the reminder of her mother's cold, flat voice. They'd shown her to the car, drove her to the bus station and left her standing at the terminal with just a small suitcase of clothing. Cas picked the first bus leaving, going to Seattle, Washington, and never looked back. She spent a few years in Seattle, learning about her magic from the Shifter community there, and eventually started dating someone whom she'd _thought_ was a lovely young man while she put herself through college for her Business Degree.

She twitches again and jerks her head up to groom her fur for a few seconds, shoving the thoughts of that horrible man from her thoughts. She gets up and jumps down to the deck before hopping to the ground and streaking into the front yard. She glances over at Dean's front porch as she runs by, but doesn't see him or the door cracked open, and the house is dark, just like it's been the last two days. She's hurt him, she knows it, but Dean was clear two nights ago when he'd asked her to leave.

_"Go on home, Cas."_

She shivers and runs faster through the yard and across the street.

As she runs through the yards, nose twitching at the smells, she thinks about what to do.

She wanders through the neighborhood aimlessly and decides that even if Dean doesn't want to see her - human her - he'd probably want to see Cosmos. Decision made; she turns toward home. As she starts to cross the street, her skin prickles. She stops on the sidewalk and lifts her face to the wind and catches a scent on the breeze she had hoped to never smell again.

Michael.

Growling low in her throat and tail lashing behind her, she changes course and heads towards Dean's yard instead of her own. She scans her yard as she runs and fails to see the trap laid out for her just at the edge of Dean's property.

Her body locks up the moment her paw touches the magical trap, a sinkhole. Her fur puffs out, standing on end, as her eyes roll around, desperately searching for Michael.

"Ah, there you are. I didn't truly expect to catch you in this one." Michael steps forward, dropping the cloaking spell. He crouches next to her and thumbs her chin. "Hello, Castiel."

She narrows her eyes at him and growls.

"Oh, come now. You should be flattered that word made it all the way back to me in Seattle." He stands up, hands going back to his pockets. "My good-for-nothing brother is good for something, at least. Even if he did get ahead of himself and attempt to trap you before I got here."

Brother? Does that mean-

"Pity for Luc, he got caught hunting out of season. I'll have to stop by the station on our way out of town and bail him out."

Castiel's fur flattens in alarm.

Michael turns back to her and crouches again. "Now, be a good kitty and don't run off. It's time for you to come home."

The instant Castiel has her body back under control, she moves, but not to run away from her tormentor.

No, not this time.

She launches herself at his face, dead silent. Her chest is vibrating with a sub-vocal growl as she sinks her claws into his scalp and cheeks and _digs_. Michael's scream is shrill in her ears, and she flattens them against her head as she attempts to shred every bit of skin off the warlock's face. She keeps her teeth to herself - it's going to be bad enough later getting the blood off her claws without having to get the taste out of her mouth as well - but engages all of the other "pointy bits" in a single-minded goal of hurting this man as much as he'd hurt her so long ago.

She's pulled away from Michael and wrapped in a dark cover of some kind, shocking her into stillness. She sniffs, and the scent of yeast and baked bread rushes into her lungs and she goes limp against Dean's chest. She's jostled around as Dean gets his hands under her rump and tucked securely to his chest but starts to relax as she feels the rumble of his chest as he speaks to Michael. Dean turns and starts moving quickly - likely taking them into his house to get her away from Michael, the same as he did when she went after Marv for being an ass - and she feels Dean's arms tighten around her to keep her from bouncing as he runs across the yard. He sets her down on the bed again and she hears the door shut before she wrestles her way out of the flannel that he'd wrapped her in.

Well, crap. She jumps off the bed and runs over to the door, scratching at the base of the wood. The door pops open, and she wiggles her way through it, streaking through the house and out the front door. She sails off the porch, clearing all the steps and landing lightly. She narrows her eyes at the sight of Dean kneeling next to Michael and yowls her fury. She growls and charges at Michael again, neatly avoiding Dean as he reaches out for her.

"Cosmos, what the hell? Dude, I have no idea who you are, man, but you need to get out of here."

Michael's face twists in a snarl, and he casts a cantrip at her. It bounces back in his face and knocks him on his ass.

Castiel stops at the border of Dean's yard and grabs a mouthful of Dean's shirt, careful to avoid skin, and pulls him back toward the line. Dean falls sideways but catches himself before he can land on the grass, a look of shock on his face. He scrambles up and runs over to the plants at the corner, snatching a handful of rosemary and muttering a spell under his breath.

"Cosmos, please, go inside. I'll take care of this asshat, get yourself safe just in case the wards fail."

She whines low in her throat and turns tail on him and runs to the house. She hears shouting behind her, and smells burned rosemary and sage.

_Worthless cur._

Her paws slide when she hits the tile of the entryway. She scrabbles and rights herself and shoots over to the couch, diving into the pile of blankets.

_Half-breed._

She burrows under the blankets and whines, the sounds of a magical fight drifting in through the open door.

_Abomination._

The sounds die down outside as she shivers under the blankets, panting. The door clicks shut, and she squeezes her eyes closed.

_No one will ever love you._

"Hey, sweetheart, hey, it's OK," she hears as the blankets on top of her are removed. Her ears flatten tightly to her head when the last blanket is removed, and she cowers away from the body looming over her. Large hands wrap around her body and she's lifted into the air and tucked into a broad chest and she heaves in a breath, Dean's scent flooding her lungs. Castiel goes limp in his hold.

"Hey, there we go." Dean bundles her up into his neck, and she buries her nose there, drawing in deep breaths until she calms down. He drops down onto the couch and she crawls up his chest to lodge herself under his chin, head buried in his throat. She can hear the rumble in Dean's chest as he continues to talk to her and melts into him as he strokes her fur.

She finally pulls away and looks up at him.

"Hey, there pretty girl."

She chirrups and head butts him.

"Yeah, it's been a pretty stressful day for you, huh?" He asks her. "Well, that dick is gone so you don't have to worry about him anymore. You got him good too, tore him up. I have no idea what he did to you, but you got him. Tore up his face, might have even gotten his eye."

She purrs, pleased with herself. She's never been a violent person, but Michael, well. He deserves every bit of what she gave him and more.

"Alright, now that's all taken care of," he murmurs, "and you've settled down." He rubs his cheek on hers. "I'm glad to see you. Missed you."

Castiel's heart melts at his words. She's missed him too, and she resolves to herself that even if he doesn't want to see human her that she will make it a point to come see him as Cosmos. She purrs and lays down on his chest, tucking her nose under her tail until they both fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean wakes with a weight on his chest. He stays still, blinking until the room comes into focus and realizes that he fell asleep on the couch with Cosmos.

Who must still be on his chest?

Interesting.

For a moment, he's glad that whatever is going through Cas' head isn't affecting Cosmos. She hadn't been around the last few days, and he'd been afraid that Cas had locked her in the house or something. He pets her as he thinks, and he feels her purring against him. She stirs and looks up at him, blinking, before she head butts him and rubs her face in his stubble.

As he sits up, she jumps down to the floor, rubbing back and forth across his shins. "Alright, I get it. Time for dinner," he says as he hauls himself off the couch. She trots after him into the kitchen, tail in the air, and leaps up onto the counter as he opens a can of food for her. He dances his fingers down her spine as she eats, chin propped up in his hand, and smiling softly.

"You know, I have no idea what's going through your mom's mind right now, but I'm glad I at least got to see you today. Even if it wasn't how I expected." He draws her tail through his fingers. "I still have no idea what happened, but it was pretty badass to see you tear that guy up like you did. Charlie's gonna have her work cut out for her. May even have to spell some of the cuts shut."

Cosmos chirps in response.

"For some reason, I feel like you are proud of yourself. And you should be." He pushes away from the counter and gets the stuff out to make himself a sandwich with a loaf of misshaped bread from the bakery. He tosses Cosmos a piece of the crust when she comes over to investigate.

"You know," he says conversationally, "I never saw myself getting a pet, but after hanging out with you, I can see the appeal."

Cosmos sits down and licks her chops in response.

"Maybe I should go down to the shelter and get myself a dog or something."

Cosmos growls.

Dean laughs. "Nah, I'd get me a cat, someone who could be friends with you, maybe." He finishes making his sandwich and puts everything away before tucking into his dinner. Dean looks towards Cas' house. "Wonder if Cas would go with me to pick one out."

Cosmos chirps and jumps down from the counter. She pads over to the back door and scratches it open until she can wiggle out, and Dean watches as she streaks across the yard and over the fence before she disappears.

"Yeah, probably not," he mutters down to his sandwich.

"Dude," Charlie says as she flops down on the couch next to Dean, "I have no idea what your cat had against Michael, but she tore his ass _up._ " She takes a drink of her rum and coke, wrinkles her nose at the taste, and takes another big gulp. "Dude had to get so many stitches I stopped counting after a while."

Dean looks over at Charlie. "You didn't use magic to sew him up? And she's not my cat."

"Hell no. Anyone who gets torn up like that by Cosmos deserves to hurt, doncha think?"

Dean shrugs. "Eh, fair point." He takes a drink of his own rum and coke and leans his head on Charlie's shoulder. "I just wish I knew how Cas feels about everything going on."

"Still haven't talked to her, huh?"

"Nope," he says. "Ain't seen hide nor hair of her since last week when Jody hauled Luc's stupid ass to jail for poaching." He throws back another gulp.

"Mmhmm. And have you bothered to go over to say anything to her?"

"What do I say, Charles? She's been keeping shit from me the entire time we've known each other." He scowls down into his empty Solo cup. "I don't know what _to_ say to her. Dunno what she wants from me."

"Oh, my gods." Charlie sits up, and Dean falls over, squawking. "Dean, you are a class A idiot sometimes, you know that?"

"Dude, what the hell?" Dean struggles to right himself on the couch. Charlie takes pity on him and shoves him over until he's sitting up again. "I came over here to commiserate with my best friend. Can we just watch the damn movie?"

Charlie narrows her eyes at him for a few seconds, long enough that Dean's afraid she's going to kick him out before she relents. "Fine. But this conversation isn't over, mister," she mutters as she starts up _A New Hope_.

Dean's in a foul mood at work, and his employees pick up on it rather quickly. Kevin, smart kid that he is, stays well out of Dean's way while Krissy, being the smart-ass kid that she is, takes Dean's mood head-on.

"Alright, boss man, what's crawled up your ass and died?" she asks him early Monday morning.

He grunts at her and keeps punching down bread dough.

"Uh-huh. Sorry Dean, but I don't speak cave-man."

He glares at her as he continues to work the dough. "Nothing."

Krissy raises an eyebrow at him and leans a hip against the counter, arms crossed. "Uh-huh. Is that why you are punching that poor baby bread like its personally offended Cas' honor?"

Dean flinches at Cas' name, and Krissy narrows in on it. "Oh." A look that Dean can't identify crosses her face before she continues. "Oh, I see. OK, well, carry on, boss." Krissy turns on her heel and walks back into the front of the shop just in time to greet a new customer.

Dean looks at her retreating back, confused. He shakes it off and looks down at the "baby bread" and hopes that he hasn't ruined it and sets it to the side to split and put it into pans so that it can rise again before he bakes it. He braces his hands on the counter and lets his head hang, blowing out a breath. He looks up and sees Kevin flit out of the kitchen and sighs again and brushes the flour off his hands. He goes to the door separating the kitchen from the front and leans on the door frame until all the customers are taken care of. He clears his throat, gaining both kid's attention.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I'm in a bad mood and it's not fair to take it out on you." He rubs the back of his neck and looks down at the floor. Two pairs of arms wrap around him and he loops his around Krissy and Kevin.

"'S alright boss," Kevin mutters into his chest.

"Yeah. Just figure out what's going on and fix it, kay?" Krissy asks.

Dean nods, face buried in Kevin's hair. "You got it."

As he leaves the bakery at two, he gets a call from Sam.

"Hey, Sammy, what's up?"

"Hey Dean, can you come by the clinic?"

Panic spreads through Dean, and he turns on his heel and heads down the street towards Sam's clinic. "On my way, what's going on?"

"I just nee- _will you stop that -_ need some help. I've got a dog here who - _damn it Comet settle down -_ that weighs a ton and he's wiggly enough that I can't hold him by myself and he's too big for my techs to control."

"Hera, how big is that dog?"

"Big, I'm going to hang up now before he makes me drop the phone."

"Yeah, OK. I'll see you in a sec." The phone goes dead, and Dean sprints the short distance to the side entrance. He lets himself in and waves at Donna, who points him down the hallway.

"They’re in exam two."

"Thanks, Donna." He ducks into the room to be greeted by his gigantor of a brother and a dog who looks like he's giving Sam a run for his money.

"Holy shit, Sam," Dean says, "You were not kidding."

"Dean," Sam pants as he pets the German Shepherd's head, "Meet Comet."

Dean holds his hand out for the dog to sniff. "Hey, dude."

Comet takes a cursory sniff at Dean and must decide that he likes what he smells. He stands up on the table, body swaying with the force of his tail wag.

"Well, he likes you, so that should make this easier," Sam says wryly.

Dean pets the dog’s gigantic head. "Well, now that we've established that he likes me, what do we need to do to make him hate me?"

"Just hold him still enough for Becky to draw blood."

"Alright, sounds easy enough. You get the head, and I get the butt?"

"Yup."

They get Becky back in the room and ready before they squish the dog down to the table and keep him still enough for Becky to do her thing before letting off him and letting him jump down to the floor. All must be forgiven because Comet immediately attempts to draw the brothers into playtime until his owner comes in and diverts his attention. They wave goodbye to the good boy and Sam catches his elbow.

"Hey, I have another favor, if you are up for it."

Dean raises his eyebrows and follows his brother into the part of the clinic where the recovery cages are kept and around to the back row. His eyes fall on a tiny black kitten who is missing most of an ear and has a patch of gauze over his left eye. Dean looks up at Sam to see his face is twisted into a grimace of rage.

"Jody brought him in last night. She found him in a tied-up garbage bag that someone had left on the side of the road and brought him right to me."

Dean waves his hand to the cage, and Sam nods. He opens the cage as quietly as he can and lifts the tiny kitten to his chest.

As Dean cradles the kitten, Sam continues. "He's not in good shape, I'm not going to lie. He's about four months old, but he's so malnourished that he weighs about the same as a two-month-old cat. His ear was missing already, so we cleaned that up last night."

"And his eye?" Dean asks softly, scratching the kitten under his chin.

"We had to take it out."

Dean growls under his breath. The kitten shrinks away, and Dean soothes him with an ear scratch. "Sorry, buddy, I wasn't growling at you," he rumbles.

The kitten leans back into Dean's chest and heaves a sigh.

"He really likes you," Sam observes quietly. "He's been pretty quiet the entire time, but he's shied away from everyone here until now."

"I'm guessing he needs a place to stay that's quiet?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, if you can swing it, at least until he's better and can get adopted. I know you aren't much into cats but-"

"Naw Sammy, I got this." Dean hitches the kitten higher on his chest and lets him nuzzle under his chin- the same spot that Cosmos likes to lay. "I gotta know though, can other cats be around him?"

"Yeah, that should be fine," Sam says as he tickles the kitten's chin. "We gave him all his shots and stuff. Well, except rabies, but he's too young for that yet. Why?"

Dean sighs. "Cas' cat spends a lot of time at the house, and I ain't gonna change that." He looks at the kitten, who's fallen asleep. "But I can't say no to someone who needs my help, either."

"You're a good man, Dean."

Dean waves him off with his free hand. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Get us loaded up with everything we'll need, and we'll get out of your long luscious locks."

Sam smacks him in the back of the head. Yeah, he probably deserved that one.

The rest of that afternoon is spent with Dean setting the kitten up in his guest room where he can be kept away from Cosmos. As much as he enjoys hanging out with her, he's never seen her around other animals, so Dean knows (thanks to Sam) that they need to be kept separated until they get used to each other.

"Alright, little guy. You've got food and water here, and your litter box is over there. Got you a nice comfy bed right here and even one of my favorite shirts to lay on." He looks down at the kitten, who is looking up at him with his head tilted to the side, and grins. "So, I'm gonna get out of your fur and let you settle in."

Dear gods, he needs to get out. He's now holding conversations with two cats, one of which doesn't even have a name. He backs out of the room once the kitten is settled into his new bed and falls asleep. When he turns around, he sees Mary striding into the kitchen, arms full of grocery bags.

"Hey, sweetie," she says as she lays the bags out on the table. "Figured you might need something for dinner."

Dean raises an eyebrow at his mother. "Uh-huh."

She waves a hand at him as she turns to put the perishables in the fridge. "Sam called me and let me know that you helped him out by taking home a kitten, and I was pretty sure that you didn't stop for anything to make on the way home," she straightens and tosses a look over at him, pinning him in place, "did you."

It's not a question. His mom knows him too well, and Dean's almost certain that one of his employees ratted him out.

"You'd be correct, Mom," he says before gathering her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. "Thanks."

She pats his cheek when she pulls away. "Just because you are grown and live on your own does not mean it's not my job to take care of you," she says softly. "Now. Spaghetti or shell bake?"

They work together in the kitchen seamlessly as they get the sauce started for spaghetti. It's got a bit to simmer, so Dean takes her out to the front yard to show her the finer points of wards he'd put up for Cosmos. She offers some suggestions for other plants for the border and some decorative fencing, and they agree to head out to Home Depot the following weekend, making it an official mother-son date.

"So," Mary starts as they sit down to eat.

"So?"

"So, where's Cas?"

Dean shifts in his seat, uncomfortable. "Dunno," he mutters down to his plate.

Mary raises an eyebrow at her son. "Uh-huh. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Dean."

Dean gusts out a sigh and pokes at his noodles. "I really don't know, Mom. I haven't seen her in a few weeks, not since the whole thing with dipshit back there." He throws a thumb over his shoulder toward the backyard.

Mary furrows her brow in confusion. "Are you avoiding her?"

Dean's saved from answering her by scratching at the front door. He jumps up and runs over, opening the door enough for Cosmos to slip in, tail in the air. She chirps at Dean, winding around his ankles as they make their way back into the kitchen.

"I didn't know you already had a cat," Mary says, bemusedly.

"Oh, this is Cosmos. Cas' cat, not mine. She just likes to hang out with me." Dean opens a can of food and scoops it into a bowl for her and sits back down to his own dinner. "Honestly, I think it's just ‘cause she likes the food I give her."

Mary laughs. "Well, if you give her fancy wet food like that, I guess so."

Feelings talk successfully diverted; they all finish their dinners, and Dean checks on the kitten, Mary and Cosmos hovering outside anxiously.

"How's he doing?" Mary asks when Dean ducks out of the guest room.

"He's good. Sleepy."

Cosmos leaves after that, with Mary following behind not long after. As Dean gives her a hug at her car, Mary lays a hand on Dean's cheek.

"Sweetie, I know you don't like to talk about stuff, so I'm not going to push you." She looks over her shoulder to Cas' house. "But I think you need to take the first step and reach out to Cas." Dean opens his mouth to argue, and Mary stops him with a raised finger. "I know she's kept stuff from you, and you are hurting, but she is too. You two have been best friends since you moved here, and she needs you just as much as you need her." She pats his cheek. "Just think about it."

Dean does think about it.

He thinks about it until he falls asleep that night, the black kitten tucked up in the bed with him and under his chin. He thinks about it at the bakery the next morning. He thinks about it after he gets home from work that night. He thinks about it so much he finally decides he needs to get it off his chest.

"What do you think, Cosmos?"

She looks over at him, key catching the sunlight as she pauses in her wash.

"I mean, yeah, Cas has been keeping stuff from me. But at the same time, it's not stuff that really matters all that much, right?"

Cosmos goes back to washing her face.

"But I feel like maybe she doesn't trust me with those parts of herself." He slides down in the chair until his chin is forced into his chest. "Maybe she feels like I'm going to use the knowledge to hurt her, somehow. Or maybe someone already has, and now she's afraid everyone else will too."

Cosmos chirps.

"You think so?" Dean wiggles upright in his chair again and looks down at the Tortie. "I know the past few weeks has sucked ass without her here. I miss her."

Cosmos saunters over to Dean and rubs across his shins.

"I just don't know what to do, Cosmos. I mean, gods, she deserves someone better than me, a screwup with daddy issues. But I just-" Dean sits back and blinks a few times as it hits him.

"I just love her so damn much, and now this thing with you and the key." He drags his hands down his face and growls in frustration.

Cosmos jumps up in his lap, and he can feel the vibrations in her body from her purr. She walks up his thighs and head butts his chest, dragging the top of her head across his shirt and rubbing her cheeks into his jaw.

"Heh, you sound happy to hear that I'm stupidly in love with my best friend," Dean says to her as he pets down her back.

Cosmos sits down and stares him in the face, gaze intent and unblinking.

"Kitty, I have no idea what you are trying to tell me, but thanks for listening to me ramble." He pats her shoulders and shoos her off his lap so he can let himself in the house. "Alright, time for you to go home and for me to get to bed. Three am comes way too early."

Dean thinks about it all the way into his dreams that night.

Dean looks up at the chime of the bell over the front door of the bakery. He doesn't see anyone up front, so he smacks the flour off his hands. "Gimme a sec, and I'll be right with you!" he yells as he jogs over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Dean?"

He stills at the sound of Cas' voice. He turns the water off and reaches out for the towel hanging next to the sink and slowly turns around.

"Hey, Cas."

Suddenly, he's got an armful of Cas, and he's hugging her to his chest. Something in him clicks back into place and he lays his cheek on her head, squeezing her tighter. He hears her sob as she tightens her hold on him.

"Hey, hey, it's OK. What's going on?"

She pulls away, dashing the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Dean."

He pulls her over to his office and sits her down in his chair. "Hang out here for a sec, OK? I'm going to get you a glass of water and make sure there’s someone to watch the front."

She nods, and he dashes out front, grabbing one of the coffee mugs and filling it with ice. He sees Krissy cleaning the tables.

"Hey, I'm going to be in my office for a while. Ya'll going to be OK out here?"

Krissy rolls her eyes. "Yes, _Dad_ , we'll be fine. Shoo, go talk to Cas."

He sticks his tongue out at her and dashes back to the water dispenser and fills the mug. When he walks into the office, Cas is slumped over his desk, head pillowed in her arms.

Dean squats next to her and rubs her back, setting the mug down well out of the way. "Hey, come on. What's up?"

She lifts her head from her arms and looks at him. "I'm so sorry, Dean. Gabe-"

Dean growls under his breath. "What did he do?"

Cas swats at him and takes a drink. "Nothing. Well, nothing bad, anyway." She clears her throat and sets the mug back down. "But he did remind me that one does not treat friends like I have you."

Dean drags another chair over in front of Cas and sits down in it. "Cas, you don't-"

"No," she shakes her head and cuts him off. "No, Dean. I've hurt you by not being forthright with you. And I'm going to try to start rectifying that today." She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I'm not going to go into everything right now, but the last time I saw Gabe was almost ten years ago." She picks at her fingers and Dean takes one of her hands and clasps it between his own.

Haltingly, she tells him about the day that her parents kicked her out of the house. How she and Gabe had just decided to move in together to allow her to start a new life, but the chance was ripped away from them, and she was left at the bus stop with enough money to get somewhere else with a small suitcase of clothing. No phone, no way to get in touch with anyone.

He tightens his grip on her hand as she finishes with reaching Seattle.

"Thank you for telling me, Cas." He draws her into a hug and breathes in her vanilla and sandalwood shampoo. "Gods, I missed you. Don't let me be an idiot like this ever again, OK?"

She draws back again and grips his hands. "I don't really feel like talking about anything else today, but..." she trails off and bites her lip, looking down.

"I have an idea." Dean leans over and tilts her chin up, so she's looking at him. "How about we order some pizza and veg out at my place? I've got someone I want you to meet anyway."

Cas nods slowly. "That sounds agreeable. Who do you want me to meet?"

Dean grins at her. "You'll just have to wait and see."

They end up going by Domino's and getting the pizza as carry out instead since they were already in town and head to Dean's place after he finished up with the baking he needed to do for the day.

"How's the store going, anyway?" he asks as they bustle into the kitchen and set down the beer and pizza.

Cas hums. "Good. Claire is taking on more of the work for a little while. She said she wants to go to college for the same degree I have, so we thought it would be a good idea for me to teach her the ropes and let her take the helm, at least for a little while." She grabs a few plates and sets them out as Dean opens a beer for each of them. "So, who is this that you want me to meet?"

"Oh!" Dean sets the bottle down and dashes for the guest room. He opens the door quietly and peeks inside. The little black kitten raises his head and chirps at Dean. He grins and opens the door wider for Cas to see in the room as well.

"Oh," she breathes, moving around Dean and going to her knees next to the kitten. "Oh, Dean, he's adorable." She gently pets between his eyes and the kitten leans into her touch.

"I mean, he's not mine. Sammy needed somewhere for him to stay while he's recovering and all that."

Cas scratches under the kitten's chin. "Does he have a name?"

"Nah. Jody found him on the side of the road, and since he's not mine, I don't want to name him, you know?" He blows a raspberry. "Plus, what do I know about naming animals."

Cas looks over her shoulder with a grin. "You did very well with Cosmos."

Dean feels his ears getting warm as he blushes. "Yeah yeah. We can leave the door open since Cosmos isn't around, let him run around and stretch his legs if he wants to. Let's go eat before the pizza gets cold."

Cas climbs to her feet and swats at Dean. "You like your pizza cold."

"Only for breakfast the next morning," he snarks back, avoiding her hand.

They settle on the couch and queue up a movie, and Dean revels in the fact he has his best friend back.

It's a good night.

Dean's days go back to normal after that. Mostly.

He spends his days at the bakery and evenings with Cas. They spend their time together chatting about everything and nothing, Cas slowly opening up about her family and her past.

Dean's pretty sure she's still holding something back, though.

His afternoons with Cosmos have taken a decidedly bizarre turn, however.

Cosmos hasn't shied away from Dean in a while, not since that first tentative week where he was pretty sure she was trying to figure him out. But now, she seems to be actively trying to get him to take the key from the collar.

And that's just weird. Cosmos is just a cat and can't understand what he told her about Cas.

...right?

He shakes his head and turns his attention back to the sketchbook in his lap. He's working out some new runes for the shop and can't afford to let his attention drift.

A chirrup and the sound of paws hitting the wood of the deck catch his attention, and he closes the book, setting it to the side. "Hey there Cosmos, how's my girl today?"

She rubs along his shins and purrs, head butting his hand when he reaches down to pet her. She arches her head down, and his fingers get tangled in her collar.

"Damn, sorry." He untangles his fingers and scratches under the collar. "Guess it's itchy there, huh? You don't usually let me get around the collar."

Cosmos sits down and arches her neck so he can scratch under her chin, making sure to avoid the key on her collar. When he draws away, she opens her eyes and huffs at him.

"What's got your tail in a knot?"

She grumbles at him and scratches at the door. He grins at her and gets up, gathering his notebook, and lets her in. The little black kitten, now cleared by Sam to roam the house and interact with Cosmos, tumbles over to her and rubs his head along her side. She stops and cleans his ears, and Dean steps over them, going into the kitchen. He opens a can of food for them to share and portions it out into bowls before setting them down on the ground. They follow him into the kitchen and bury their noses in their respective dishes, tails in the air.

He smiles at them, running his fingers along Cosmos' spine, chuckling under his breath when she stands up as he gets closer to the base of her tail.

The three of them hang out on the front porch for a while before Cosmos streaks off, the black kitten standing at the top of the stairs watching her go.

"Hey buddy, it's alright, she'll be back later."

The kitten turns around and races towards Dean, bumping into his shins with his blind side. Dean chuckles and picks him up when the kitten starts trying to climb his leg and deposits him in his lap. They sit there until the sun begins sliding westward and Cas gets home from work. She waves before running in her own house. She exits sans coat and bag and jogs across the yard.

"Hello, Dean," she says as she jumps up the stairs.

Dean grins up at her. "Hey, Cas." He reaches up and accepts the hug from her before she plops down in the chair across from him. "How was work?"

Cas rolls her neck as she answers, "Not bad. Everyone is excited about a new release, so we got some decent traffic today."

"But you are a used bookstore, so why do you get increased traffic for a new one?"

"People like to get rid of the old ones before they get a new one." She links her fingers together in front of her and rolls her shoulders before letting her head hang down. "Keeps them from having too many books."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Not sure if there's such a thing as too many books, though."

Cas laughs as she drops her arms and leans back in the chair. "I agree with you."

They grin at each other, and the kitten makes his presence known by standing up in Dean's lap and stretching.

"Oh, I didn't realize he was out here."

Dean strokes the kitten's head. "Yeah, he and Cosmos were out here earlier playing."

Cas hums and props her chin in her hand. "Are you going to keep him?"

"I wasn't going to, but with his black fur and missing an eye and part of an ear, I’m afraid no one will want him." He moves down to the kitten's chin and starts scratching there, huffing a laugh when the kitten begins leaning into him.

"Well, then I suppose he needs a name, don't you think?"

Dean hums in agreement. "Been thinking about that, actually. I started calling him Fury in my head a few days ago."

Cas tilts her head in confusion. "Fury?"

"Yeah," Dean grins at his friend’s lack of pop-culture knowledge. No matter what he does to try to teach her, she never has gotten his references. "Nick Fury from the Marvel movies."

"Oh! The one who's missing an eye!"

"Yup," he grins over at her. "Charlie is going to go nuts when she meets him."

"Well, who wouldn't? He's adorable."

"You're damn right he is!"

And so, the days move on. Dean and Cas get back on track in their friendship, Cosmos and Fury get along great, and Dean is the happiest he's been in a while. Hell, even the Great Cat Chase seems to be winding down. Dean's noticed a sharp drop of people hanging around Cas' house looking for Cosmos.

He's found a random key around the house a few times, and he's not sure how it manages to get in the house (and not be where he puts it after he finds it) but shrugs it off as a fluke.

Until, one night, a key shows up in the middle of his bed.

Dean stumbles into his bedroom, up late from having dinner with Charlie, Sam, and Jess, and stops at the glint of metal in the bed. He squints, forcing his tired eyes to focus on the object.

It's a key.

Dean groans and staggers over to the side of the bed and grabs the key from the comforter. He blinks his eyes at the object in his hand and gives up when they start burning. He tosses the key onto his nightstand, deciding to focus on the issue in the morning when he's got a clearer head, strips down, and climbs under the covers.

He dreams of Cosmos sleeping curled on his chest that night, right over his heart.

A few days after he found the key in his bed (it wasn't on the nightstand when he woke up the next morning, and he's starting to think he's going crazy), Cosmos hops into his lap and deposits the key on his chest.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, Dean's breath caught in his throat. His hand is shaking as he reaches up and picks up the key between his forefinger and thumb.

"Cosmos?" he shows her the key.

She purrs, and head butts his hand.

"Cosmos," he swallows hard. "Have you been leaving this around my house?"

She chirps and kneads his shirt.

"But-"

She butts him in the chin and rubs her cheeks all over his face. He splutters and pushes her face away before he gets cat hair up his nose. "Dude."

She sits down on the arm of the chair and looks at him, blinking with both eyes.

"Cosmos, I-" Dean sighs. "Cosmos, I can't take this."

Cosmos chirps and tilts her head to the side.

"Because- because Cas deserves so much better than me."

Dean's pretty sure Cosmos rolls her eyes at that one.

"Dude, I'm nothing to her. Nothing but a friend. And Bast knows I'm no good for her. What am I? Nothing. Sure, I own a bakery. But I'm just a kitchen witch. I'm nothing."

A growl starts low in Cosmos' throat. Dean swallows and pushes on.

"Cosmos, I- I can't take the key. I love Cas too much to tie her down like this. To someone like me. She deserves- ow!"

Cosmos yowls and swipes at Dean's hand, laying his skin open and making Dean drop the key. She turns and jumps from the chair, streaking off the porch and through the yard, heading toward the woods. Dean hisses and wraps his hand in his flannel before he pushes out of the chair and runs over to the railing in time to see Cosmo's tail vanish into the forest.

"Son of a bitch," he mutters under his breath. He peels a few layers of the flannel back but sees that the bleeding hasn't slowed down, so he wraps it back up and heads into the house. He calls Charlie.

"Char? Yeah, it’s me. I uh, I need some help."


	5. Chapter 5

Castiel's chest heaves as she runs through the woods, darting between the trees and other fallen debris on the forest floor. If she were human, her eyes would be overflowing with tears.

She knew Dean had a low opinion of himself, but she'd never guessed it was as low as he'd shown her today.

She dodges a trap that Frank missed, darting to her right, deeper into the trees. It's darker in this area, and she stutters to a stop, looking around warily. The forest is silent here, and her fur stands on end as she whirls around. She looks up into the trees and sees a few birds hunkered down, hiding. A creak from her left has her whipping her head around in time to see an arrow speeding towards her.

Castiel cries out at the impact, her voice echoing through the trees, startling the remaining wildlife into fleeing. Her body is pushed back a few feet until she lands on the ground with a thump, and pain sears through her body, radiating from her left back leg. Something - someone - large crashes through the underbrush and for a moment, she's terrified Michael had gotten his wish to own her again. But this person doesn't smell like Michael.

"Got her!" the man crows, and through her haze, she sees another man following, a younger man. She can't focus on either of them until they get closer, the pain making her vision hazy. One doesn't look like he should be tromping through a wooded area, wearing a suit and tie. He's the one holding the bow. The younger man's face is stricken, and he rushes past the older one, pushing him to the side.

"Father! What were you thinking?" He drops to his knees beside Castiel and runs his hand over her flank. She hisses at him in warning.

"What? You wanted to marry the chit, Gavin, and here's your chance! Get the key from the flea-bitten cur, and let’s get out of here."

Gavin? Castiel forces herself to focus on the young man kneeling beside her, and yes, that is Gavin MacLeod. Which means the man who shot her must be Crowley.

"Father, this must not be the right cat, she doesn't have a key on her collar," Gavin says after checking. She growls low in her throat at the feeling of his hands at her neck.

"Yes, it is. I'm sure of it."

"Well, then someone has already gotten the key from her, and you shot this poor creature for nothing!" Gavin yells back.

"Eh," Crowley shrugs. "It's not like the cat had to stick around, right? Not like she's worth anything to us now anyway." Crowley kicks her in the side, and she cries out again, and she tries to drag herself away from the two men. "Come on son, might as well leave this thing to die here." Crowley reaches out and grasps his son's shoulder and a pulse rings out through the forest, and the two men disappear.

Castiel lays on the ground for a few moments, panting heavily and trying to regain some of her strength. She needs to get home, she needs help-

She needs to get to Dean.

The forest birds start flitting back into the area after a few minutes, and a crow flutters to Castiel's side. He nudges at her cheek. She lifts her head and he cocks his head at her in question. He chitters at her a few times and she lays her head back down on the ground. He fluffs his feathers and nudges her again. She heaves a sigh and tries to block the pain out and sets to trying to get upright and keep her weight off the leg with the arrow sticking out of it.

A raven lands next to her and lets Castiel lean on her to get her balance. She rubs her cheek on the raven's beak in thanks. With the two corvids steading her, they make their careful way back to the edge of the woods. It's slow, so slow, but eventually, the back of Dean's house is finally in view just after sundown.

She rubs her cheek against the raven and crow's beaks in thanks and sinks to the ground to rest after they fly off back into the forest. The pain is radiating through her body in time with her heartbeat, and she can't help the whines that claw their way out of her throat. She lays at the edge of Dean's property until the moon rises and she can see to drag herself through the soft grass and around the front of the house. She looks at the steps of the porch and knows she doesn't have enough strength to get up them, so she crawls under the holly bushes and settles herself against the edge of the house. She sighs and lets herself go limp and blackness swarms in, dragging her down with it.

Dean wakes with a start, the phantom pain fading from his mind as his brain catches up with his body. He sits up with a groan and runs his good hand across his face. It's Saturday, so why the hell is he awake before the sun is even up?

He squints at the alarm clock. It's four am, so it's later than he usually wakes up, but he really doesn't want to be up this early on his day off. Yesterday had sucked balls with the incident with Cosmos and Cas not coming home. No one had seen her since earlier in the afternoon at the store, and Dean's worried about her. He groans and flops back on the bed and holds his hand up to inspect it.

Thank the gods for Charlie. Cosmos did a number on his hand yesterday. She got him with all four claws across the back of his hand and flayed the skin wide open. Charlie had insisted on spelling the skin closed and giving him a tetanus shot but made him promise to take it easy on his hand today to make sure the spell work held up. He flexes his hand a few times, appreciating the work she did on his hand.

Dean sighs and lets his hand drop to his side, and an irritated meow drifts up from his spare pillow. He shuffles around until he's on his side looking at Fury.

"Sorry, buddy," he murmurs as he strokes a finger over his nose. Fury huffs and settles back down into slumber. Dean smiles and decides to copy his kitten and goes back to sleep.

When he wakes up again, the kitten is standing on his chest, glaring at him, and the sun is streaming into his room. He yawns and sits up after Fury jumps onto the bed. He stretches his arms above his head and groans when his back pops.

Fury ambles to the end of the bed, where Dean's got his basket of clothes set up as a makeshift staircase and rolls down the pile of clothes to the floor. He runs over to the bedroom door and scratches at it.

"Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses," Dean grumbles as he gets out of bed and stumbles over to the door, opening it so Fury can scuttle to the guest room and his litter box. Dean follows him down the hallway and goes to the kitchen. He starts his coffee and feeds Fury before ambling over to the fridge to survey his options for breakfast.

"What do you think, bud? Eggs and bacon?" He looks over his shoulder to see Fury with his face buried in his bowl and chuckles. "Yeah, that sounds good to me, too. Eggs and bacon, it is."

He pulls everything out of the fridge and deposits them on the counter next to the stove before he doctors up his coffee and drains half the cup in one go. He drinks the rest of it as he makes and eats his breakfast and takes a new cup outside to the front porch. The morning is quiet as he sits down in his chair and takes a sip of his coffee. Fury climbs up the leg of the chair, and they sit in silence, soaking up the waking world.

Dean's finished with his coffee, and Fury is dozing on his lap when a crow lands on the banister above the holly bushes and caws at him. Dean waves at the bird and it fluffs up all its feathers, cawing at him again. Dean focuses on the bird and it jumps back and forth on the railing a few times. When it realizes it has his attention, the crow takes off and swoops above the bushes a few times before it lands on the banister and caws again.

"OK, I'm pretty sure I'm not a Disney princess, but are you trying to tell me something?" Dean asks the crow.

The crow caws and swoops over the bushes again.

Dean nudges Fury off his lap and goes over to the rail where the crow is. He looks over the edge but can't see through the foliage of the bushes. He looks back up at the crow and raises an eyebrow. The crow lands on the ground in front of the bushes and hops around, looking up at Dean.

Dean narrows his eyes at the bird. Something isn't right, so he joins the bird and crouches so he can see into the back of the bushes. He doesn't see anything right away and goes to stand up when a dark lump twitches, and a low yowl reaches his ears.

"Dear gods," he mutters under his breath. He looks at the crow and asks, "Is this what you were trying to get my attention for?"

The crow caws again and flies away.

"Guess that answers that question," he grumbles to himself. He lays himself out on the ground and slithers as close to the bushes as he can and clicks his tongue.

The lump twitches again, and as Dean's eyes get used to the low light, he gasps. Cosmos is under his holly bushes and it looks like something is sticking out of her leg. Dean scrambles up and dashes into the house and to his room. He snatches his phone off the charger and dials his brother as he runs back out into the front yard.

"Murph?"

"Sammy, Cosmos is hurt," Dean says as he throws himself down on the grass again. He wiggles back into his previous spot, phone held to his face with his shoulder.

"Muff? Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy."

"Sorry, it's still early for me. What's going on?"

Dean pulls the phone away from his ear and winces when he sees its just rounding seven in the morning. He puts his phone on speaker and lays it down on the ground next to him. "Cosmos is hurt. I found her under my holly bushes, and it looks like something is sticking out of her leg."

Sam sucks in a breath. "OK, can you reach her?"

"No, she's all the way at the back against the house."

"Is she awake?"

"I don't think so."

"Alright. You need to go into the house and get a few things. I'm getting dressed now, and I'll be there in a few minutes. You gotta stay calm, OK?" Dean can hear Sam pulling on clothing as he slides back away from the bushes.

"OK, what do you need me to get?"

"Get a blanket, something flat to put her on, a bowl of water, and a can of really stinky cat food. The stronger the smell, the better. Tuna works just as well."

"OK," Dean rummages through the cabinets and pulls out a can of tuna, tossing it on the counter and gets a small bowl down and puts about an inch of water in it at Sam's instruction.

"I don't have anything flat to put her on."

"Got a box you can flatten?" Sam asks. Dean hears his car door slam as he looks around.

"OK, yeah, got it."

"Got everything?"

Dean grabs a flannel as he runs back out the door. "Yup. Oh shit, Fury. Little dude, you need to go back in the house." Dean scoops up the kitten, who lets out a disgruntled meow at the rough handling. He runs back through the house and deposits him in the guest room before he closes the door.

"Put him in the guest room."

"Done."

"OK, Dean, stop. Take a deep breath."

Dean sucks in a breath. "Dude, we don't have time for this."

Sam growls under his breath. "Dean, you have to calm down. If you are freaking out, Cosmos is going to freak out. She trusts you, right? So, get your shit together and help her. I'm turning onto your road now; I'll see you in a sec." The line clicks and goes dead.

Dean drops the phone and presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, dragging deep breaths into his lungs. He forcibly calms himself before he lays back on the ground and opens the can of food.

A door slams behind him, and he hears Sam run up next to him as Cosmos' head pops up at the combination of sounds. She shivers and looks around wildly before her gaze lands on Dean. She trembles.

"Hey, pretty girl," Dean croons to her. A tremor runs through her body again. He reaches toward her and she shrinks back.

"Hey, none of that now. I've got something for you to eat and drink, but I need you to come closer so Sammy and I can help you." Dean reaches behind him, and Sam puts a small piece of tuna in his hand. He waves it at her, and her nose twitches at the smell, but she stays put.

"Sammy, this isn't working."

"Keep on it, dude."

Dean keeps trying, talking to her, and offering the food and water. He's wiggling as far into the bushes as he can, but Cosmos won't let him touch her, hissing at him when he tries to reach for her.

"Fuck. Dude, I really don't want to have Charlie rip me a new one for getting my other hand cut up."

"Well, it won't go any better if I get in there, I promise. She at least knows you."

That's a fair point. Dean sighs and pulls his hand back and keeps talking to her.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You think lavender will work on her? Calm her down, maybe?"

"It might. You got any sachets made up?"

"Duh," Dean tells him where to find the freshest one in his workroom and Sam runs off to get it.

Cosmos' eyes have started drooping at this point, and Dean's anxiety is spiking again.

"Hey, bright eyes. Stay with me." Cosmos' eyes drop further, and Dean can see her body going lax, so he reaches out to her again, letting a calming spell dance along his fingers. As soon as he touches her, Cosmos jerks and hisses at him again.

He yanks his hand back. "Alright, sorry."

Sam lands next to him and hands him a sachet. "Here."

Dean takes the bag and pushes it towards Cosmos, projecting calm to jump-start the spell in the herbs.

It doesn't work.

"Come on out for a bit Dean, give her a break."

Dean wiggles out from under the bushes and sits back on his heels. "Shit, what are we supposed to do now?"

Sam shrugs. "Exactly what we are doing. Cats are hard to deal with when they are hurting." He leans over and looks at Cosmos, who responds with a hiss and a low growl. When he straightens back up, he says, "I can tell you I'm not going in after her."

"Yeah, I don't really blame you on that one."

They wait until the growls fade before Dean lays back down and wiggles back into his spot. Cosmos is panting when he can see her again, and Dean can smell blood in the air now.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to throw a sleep spell on her. Get my flannel ready."

Dean draws the calming spell in from the bag of herbs and twists his fingers, changing the intent of the spell. He throws the sleep-spell at Cosmos, who goes limp. He quickly wiggles under the bush and grabs her by the scruff of her neck and drags them both back until he can slide her onto the box, and Sam throws Dean's flannel shirt over her head. They rush inside, Sam growling under his breath when he sees what's lodged in Cosmos' leg.

"Son of a bitch. Someone shot her with an arrow."

Dean stumbles as he reaches the table and sets her down. He hadn't noticed what was actually sticking out of her leg until Sam mentioned it, and he feels sick.

"Oh gods."

Sam pushes him away. "Go. Call Cas and see if you can get ahold of her. Call Donna and ask her to bring me my kit."

Dean stumbles away, bile rising in his throat. He swallows a few times before he makes his way back out into the yard and finds his phone.

Cas doesn't pick up again, and Dean growls under his breath. When her voicemail finally picks up, he leaves a short message that Cosmos has been hurt and that she's at his place or the vet’s office, depending on what Sam says. He hangs up and calls Donna, waking her up and relaying Sam's message to her. She promises to be there as soon as possible and hangs up.

Dean's hand falls to his lap, and he sits in the yard, staring at nothing until Donna pulls up. He holds up a hand to stop her from crossing the ward and casts the spell over her so she can pass, and he tells her where she can find Sam and Cosmos. He follows her into the house and goes into the guest bedroom, closing the door behind him to keep Fury away from the two working on Cosmos. He leans against the door and slides to the floor and buries his head in his hands.

A small body bumps into his left thigh, and he peeks out to see Fury looking up at him. He raises his elbow and the kitten clambers into his lap.

"Hey, buddy," Dean says quietly. "Been a hell of a morning."

Fury chirrups and purrs softly before he lays down on Dean's stomach.

An hour later, Dean is startled from a light doze when someone knocks on the guest room door. He cradles Fury against his chest and stands up, opening the door.

Sam smiles softly at him. "She's OK. The arrow didn't hit anything vital, so we got it out, and the bleeding stopped." Sam turns back to the kitchen and Dean follows. "We had to shave her leg a little on both sides so we could sew her up. By the way, that spell you threw on her did a damn good job of keeping her asleep. Otherwise, we would have had to take her to the clinic before trying anything."

Dean nods.

"She's going to be hurting pretty bad, so here are some pain meds for her. Did you get ahold of Cas?"

Dean shakes his head.

"Shit. OK, then I'm going to leave the care instructions with you, OK?" Sam scribbles some things out on in Dean's notebook and slides it over to him. Dean nods again, and Sam slaps him on the shoulder. "Just put her somewhere that's quiet and comfortable and let her sleep off that spell, OK?"

Dean waves him off and puts Fury down on the floor. The kitten stays close to his ankles as Dean gathers Cosmos up in his arms and takes her to his bedroom and lays her on his bed, tucking a few of his shirts around her and putting the flannel over her like a blanket. Hopefully, his scent will keep her calm if she wakes up before he checks on her.

When he looks at his phone, he groans when he sees that it's only 9:30. He sets a reminder for him to go check on Cosmos in an hour and wanders back into the kitchen, Fury at his heels. He makes short work of cleaning up the mess of his table and throws everything with blood on it into his fire pit out back before incinerating it. He wipes down the table one last time with bleach and tosses everything in the washer.

He collapses onto the couch and stares at the TV until Fury lands in his lap. He startles and gathers the kitten up to his chest and takes a shuddering breath. He buries his face in the soft black fur and stifles a sob.

"Hera, who would do that to a cat?" he mutters into Fury's fur. The kitten's response is a purr, so Dean lets him reassure him the only way he knows how.

They stay curled up on the couch until Dean's alarm goes off. Fury is asleep, so he puts him in the guest room on his bed and closes the door before he creeps over to his own. When he opens his bedroom door, his jaw sags, and all he can do is blink in shock.

Cas is sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in the flannel that he'd covered Cosmos with and a pair of his sleep pants. She looks up at the sound of the floorboards creaking.

"Oh," she breathes when she sees him.

Dean works his jaw, trying to make sense of the scene in front of him - Cas in his bed, wearing his clothes -

And she's holding the key that Cosmos gave him last night.

He can't seem to form a coherent thought, let alone words, as he stares at Cas.

She clears her throat and shifts on the bed, wincing. "I owe you an explanation."

Dean nods.

Cas sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "I'm a Shifter."

Dean's face twists in confusion.

"A cat Shifter," Castiel clarifies.

Understanding dawns on Dean. He still can't form words, but his mind is going a mile-a-minute, jabbering at him about the things that he told Cosmos. Stuff he's never told anyone.

Ever.

Including his feelings for Cas.

Dean backs out of his room slowly until he can't see Castiel anymore and whirls around, running into the living room. He looks around, panicked, and grabs his phone off the couch where he'd left it and snatches up his keys, bolting for the front door and the Impala. He throws his baby into reverse and backs out of the driveway as quickly as he can and points her to the town limits. He has to pull over when the white noise that's filled his head takes over, and he can't see or breathe. He fumbles his phone out of his pocket and it slides across the seat. Dean growls under his breath and grabs it.

"Handmaiden? You OK?"

Dean shakes his head, still trying to breathe through the iron bands around his chest. Charlie makes a concerned noise and starts exaggerating her breathing, talking Dean through his panic attack. He struggles to match her breathing, but eventually, the white noise recedes.

"Thanks, Charlie."

Charlie gusts a sigh. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

"Not really?" Dean says, running a hand through his hair.

"Tough. Spill, Winchester."

Dean groans and his head thumps back onto Baby's seat. But he knows that Charlie isn't going to let this go, so he takes a deep breath and tells her everything. His throat is sore by the time he gets done, and Charlie hums.

"So lemme get this straight. Cas is Cosmos. You finally admitted to her that you are in love with her. Cas tried to give you the key. Cas ran off after you tried to refuse the key and got hurt. And now you've just left Cas in your place, running out on her?"

Dean grumbles in response.

"Oh, my gods. Dean, you are such an idiot."

"Hey!"

"No really. You. Are. An. Idiot. Get your ass back to your house and grovel because you really fucked up this time."

Dean growls. "OK, Charlie that-"

"Nope," she says over him. "You had your chance to talk, now it's my turn, so shush."

Dean snaps his mouth shut.

"Dean, you know I love you, right?"

"Yeah."

"OK, please remember that with what I said. But dude, Cas is in love with you too. Why do you think she did this whole thing with the key and her cat?"

Dean shrugs, "Dude, I have no idea."

He's pretty sure he can hear Charlie's eye roll. "Dean, she did it so she could gauge the people who wanted to date her. People let their guard down around animals, you know that. You did it yourself with Cosmos."

A glimmer of understanding sparks in Dean's brain. "Oh," he says softly.

"Yeah, now you are starting to get it," Charlie hums in satisfaction. "Now, what are you going to do about it?"

Dean chews his lip as he thinks. "Um."

"Dean. You're gonna go get the girl."

Dean nods. "I'm gonna go get the girl."

"Thatta boy! Now, hang up with me, turn that Impala around from wherever you parked her, and take your ass home. And don't call me until you and Cas have worked your shit out. Got it?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Dean disconnects the call and tosses his phone on the seat. He looks out across the field he's ended up parked next to and decides that he needs to get something in his stomach before he goes home and pours his heart out to his best friend. Even if he's already done it, she was a cat at the time, and talking to humans who can talk back is hard.

Especially about feelings.

Dean shudders and puts Baby back into drive and heads back into town. He stops at Harvelle's Tavern and waves at Ellen.

"Hey El, can I get a burger and a beer?"

"Sure thing. Find a spot, and I'll bring it out to you." She gives him his usual beer and shot, and he settles down at the bar. No sense in making Ellen work harder for no reason.

He throws back the shot and drains half the beer before Ellen comes back out of the kitchen. She raises an eyebrow at him, and he shrugs sheepishly.

"Rough morning?"

Dean looks at his phone and blanches when he realizes its only noon. "You could say that, yeah."

"Alright. No drinking yourself under the table, but I'll let it slide this once," Ellen says as she gives Dean another beer and a shot of whiskey. He drains his first beer while he waits for his food to come out and keeps his drinking to a minimum while he eats. As he finishes his burger, the bells at the door jingle and he turns around to see Gabriel walking in, a stormy expression on his face.

"There you are," he growls as he draws up next to Dean and smacks him on the back of the head.

"Ow! Dude, what the fuck?"

"What the fuck? I should be asking you that, running off when my sister's been hurt. Leaving her there in your bed with no way to get back to her place? After she's told you the one thing, she doesn't tell anyone? And now I find you here drinking yourself stupid?"

"Gabe-"

"Young man," Ellen cuts in sternly, "Dean's had two beers and one shot since he walked in to get something to eat."

Gabe's jaw drops, and he runs a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry."

"'S alright." Dean rubs the back of his head and scowls. "Didja have to hit me so hard, though?"

"Eh, you deserved it."

Dean shrugs. Gabe's probably right.

"Did she call you?" Dean asks Gabriel as he settles down on the stool next to him.

"Yeah, she was pretty upset. She'd managed to hobble over to her place and use the key she gave you to let herself in."

Dean looks down at the bar. "How bad did I fuck this up?"

"I have no idea, Dean-o, but I think you can still make it right if you haul ass over there sooner rather than later."

Dean nods and gathers his courage. He throws down two twenties for Ellen and claps Gabriel on the shoulder.

"Good luck!" Gabriel shouts at Dean hurries out of the diner.

Dean's still sitting in Baby after parking her in his driveway. He grips the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white and flicks his gaze to Cas' house.

OK, Winchester, time to nut up and do this.

He takes a deep breath and pushes out of the car, slamming the door shut. He strides across the yard separating their houses and up the stairs to Cas' small porch. When he tries the door, it's already unlocked, so he knocks once and pushes inside.

"Cas?" He looks around the ground floor but doesn't see anyone until he glances in the living room.

Cas pops up from the couch, hair askew. "Dean?"

"Yeah, it's me. Can I uh, come in?"

Cas quirks an eyebrow at him. "Looks like you are already inside."

Dean rolls his eyes at her and feels the tension in his shoulders start to melt away. "You know what I mean, smart ass."

Cas grins. "Yes, Dean, you can come in." She shuffles around on the couch to clear a spot for Dean to sit down and props her leg up on the coffee table.

Dean asks if she needs anything before he sits down, settling next to her on the couch. She raises an eyebrow at him again at the space separating them.

"Dean, I'm not going to bite. Get over here so I can cuddle the shit out of you while we talk."

Dean laughs and scooches over so that Cas can snuggle into his side. He pulls down one of her quilts and throws it across them. He rests his cheek on her head.

"So," he says.

She hums.

"So how much of what you hear as Cosmos do you remember?"

"Everything, Dean. I don't go away when I'm in my cat form."

Dean chuckles. "So, you really do like the cat food?"

She pinches his side.

"Alright, alright." Dean clears his throat. "So, you know."

"Mmhm."

"Been in love with you for a while, now that I look back on it all." Dean pauses. "Is that... OK?"

Cas huffs a laugh. "It's more than OK, you silly witch. I've been in love with you for years."

Dean closes his eyes. "Gods, we are a pair of dumbasses, aren't we?"

Cas hums. "I prefer idiots. Less dumb, less ass."

"Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?"

"Can I kiss you now?"

Cas hums. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Dean hunches in on himself as he answers. "Mostly cause I was selfish. I didn't want to lose what we had if you didn't feel the same way, you know?" Dean shrugs. "Everyone leaves, and I thought that if we stayed friends, it wouldn't hurt as much when you finally leave too."

Cas sighs, and then Dean's head snaps forward from the force of her hand meeting the back of his head. "Dean Winchester, you utter idiot."

Dean blinks a few times in shock before he raises his hand to the back of his head and levels a glare at Castiel. "What the fuck?"

Cas just glares right back at him. "First of all, I'm not going anywhere. Second-" Cas pulls Dean around so that he's facing her and grabs a fistful of his shirt and yanks him down into a genuinely filthy kiss.

Dean's brain sparks and screeches to a halt at the feel of Cas' lips on his. She's soft and warm in his arms, but her mouth, oh gods her mouth, is sin personified. She nips at his lips and when Dean gasps, she slips her tongue in his mouth and teases his palette, making his toes curl at the sensations she's creating. When Cas pulls back, her eyes are closed and she's panting, and when she finally opens her eyes and looks up at Dean, her eyes are glowing with suppressed power. Cas lifts her hand and lays it on Dean's cheek, and he leans into it.

"So now what?" he asks, nuzzling into her palm.

Cas smiles and lays her head down on his shoulder. "I have a few ideas."

Dean's in the kitchen singing an old Sammy Kershaw song under his breath when he hears the front door slam. He leans back from the stove and sees his best friend throw her tan trench coat on the back of the couch. Castiel lets her dark brown hair out of its bun, rolling her shoulders. As she makes her way into the kitchen, Dean angles his head towards the fridge and, in place of a greeting, says, "Beer's in the fridge."

Cas slides between Dean and the stove, reaching back to turn off the burners. She loops her arms around his neck and draws him down into a kiss. He wraps his arms around her waist and tugs her closer, grinning at her laugh. She turns in his arms and turns the burners back on.

"What's for dinner tonight?"

Dean buries his nose in her hair and hums. "Spaghetti. I've got the new Marvel movie ready, and I figured we'd just chill tonight."

Fury brushes against their legs and chirps. Dean steps back and lets Cas reach down and pick him up. After six months and a lot of love and care, the kitten finally looks his age. He purrs and butts his head under Cas' chin.

"I think that's a lovely idea," Cas says as she tugs Dean to her side and draws him into a hug. “Absolutely wonderful.”

_And she don't know she's beautiful (never crossed her mind)_

_She don't know she's beautiful (no she's not that kind)_

_She don't know she's beautiful_

_Though time and time I've told her so_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who want to know what song Dean keeps humming, it’s She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful, by Sammy Kershaw. You can listen to it on Spotify here.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's all she wrote! I hope you enjoyed my rendition of the prompt that was going around a few months ago, I know I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> You can come find me on [Tumblr](https://wargurl83.tumblr.com/).  
> Check out my other stories [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wargurl83/works).  
> And you can always come talk to me on the [ProfoundBond Discord](http://discord.profoundbond.net/) if you are a Destiel lover like me!


End file.
